Juoppohullun päiväkirja (2012): Hasling around without ending...

 

Critic 1

 

Usually Finnish movies are dark whining stories about hardness of life. It was very entertaining to see a movie where the hardships of everyday life were systematically bypassed and life lived with a full throttle.... With help of booze but who cares? Story itself was very mediocre and without proper ending with some very disturbing but plausible details from professional drunks life. Joonas Saartamo plays the main character extremely well, I'd say he will get some Finnish equivalent of Oscar because of the role. Take care that your date can handle bad language, vomiting and gay porn scenes.

Critic 2 

 

Movie is about a Finnish man, who is addicted to alcohol. The king named alcohol is everything to him, but then he meets a girl. An overall plot sounds like ordinary romantic movie. But this is a Finnish movie about a shabby man with an irony and without colors of roses. The movie was better than I expected, I thought it would be all mindless fiddling. There is a lot of that too, but also a plot. But there could have been a little bit more of a real plot, since the movie felt a bit too long, even the length of the movie was only about one and half hours. The ending pointed towards to sequel too clearly. But I have to admit that this movie wasn't so depressing as so many other Finnish movies.

The Judgement Star: A movie with some weak points.

Finland - The most dullest place on Earth.

Why so?

 

There are few very distinctive indications supporting my claim.

1. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak hints something like that.

“Those who came here in order to set up a national home have to know how to stand firm. For those who want complete quiet, there is Finland and there is Western Europe, and they can go there.” (The original post)

2. The US ambassador to Finland has nothing else to do...

...but to work his biceps.

3. In some other countries men are stockpiling guns....

... in Finland men are stockpiling (in Finnish) clothes and ham.

4. The most outrageous criminal in Finland during the Xmas holidays...

... was a great tit (In Finnish).    


I rest my case. 

-Critic#1

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - Feels like a fairytale.

Critic 1

 

First of all I have to mention that we saw the HFR version of this movie and oh boy... It was really worth it... Picture was sharp as life it self and the annoying blurring of movement was totally gone. Some corners were cut though but not too badly. Otherwise the movie was as expected. Nothing extraordinary with the plot (if you have read the book), or with the characters. If you can survive the dish washing scene in the beginning (you'll know) this is a really good movie. Just make sure to wear a pointy hat in the theater and make sure that your date is OK with that.  

Critic 2

 

This is a movie about a novel by Tolkien. A hobbit will have a big adventure. I was surprised how well it merged in the similar world with the movies from the Lord's of the rings by the same director. The 3D effects were better than usual, a new technique seem to be promising. I liked the movie although some similar scenes with LOTR movies could have been filmed from different angles. I liked a bit slow phase of the movie and in the end after almost three hours I would have still wanted to stay in the theater and watch more.  

Judgement Star: The Hobbit is a very good movie.

Book: The Fractal Prince - Hannu Rajaniemi

How confused you can get..?

 

If you have not read the Quantum Thief  you can stop here. There is no point to read further.

The Fractal Prince starts where the Quantum Thief ended. The mystical thing made by one of the not-properly-introduced fractions is doing something to mess the bandwidth or something....

A very hard to read book, totally impossible if you have not read the previous book by Hannu Rajaniemi. If you can leave your day work and read this word by word then you may have some chance....

 -Critic#1

Despite (or because) of the complicated nature a very unique book.

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

Star Trek - Generations (1994): And Captain Kirk saves the day.

 

 

Critic 1

 

The first Star Trek movie with Captain Picard shows promise in the beginning but turns down to metaphysical mumbojumbo. Again the crew of the Enterprise fights mystical forces and evildoers with grater-than-life plans, a bunch of Klingons are mixed in the soup and dead Captain Kirk shows up. So it is a common day in the Star Trek universe. The visual effects are clearly better than in the previous Star Trek movies and there is even a minor space fight. As a date movie... Are you kidding? You are a Star Trek fan. You don't have a real date... 

Critic 2

 

The Star Trek saga continues with the next generation. The story stars a bit slowly, but improves later. The ideas in the storyline are diverse, but plot doesn't grab a full usage of them. Computer generated graphics are nice although not spectacular. The ending feels a bit prolonged but by thinking of a story it is justified. I got the feeling that this is a transition movie and next movie will fully focus on next generation and I will see a real space adventure. 

Judgement Star: Generations is an average movie.

 

Imaginaerum (2012): Bizarre in a good way.

 

Critic 1

 

Usually when a band has some issues with their old members they trash the issue in the popular media and downplay as much as they can. But the Nightwish made a movie... Movie itself is very unorthodox and surprising in both weird and captive ways and very touchy. There is no telling what comes next.. Unfortunately the acting is not up to standards and being "a musical" there is less music you would expect. Visually the movie was quite nice. Specially the final scenes.  If you want to see something different this is for you. 

 

Critic 2

 

The Nightwish band made a movie. Initially I thought that it would be a musical, but the movie included surprisingly few musical performances. Somehow I was hoping to see more of them. The best in the movie were music and dreamy visions, unfortunately the basic storyline was nothing new. But if the storyline would have been complicated maybe movie would have been difficult to understand. The dreams and "real" story folded together nicely. The computer effects also looked fine. Actors were actually good and I'm glad that they chose real actors in roles instead amateurs.

Judgement Star: A fair movie with some weaknesses.

Looper (2012): A ruined future indeed..

Critic 1

 

Our dear western culture teaches us that the life of a child is precious and must be protected at any cost. But is it so? In the wild weak, ill and young are the first to perish. In this movie our basic values around this topic are tested... Along with some physics laws. Besides different than usual motivation the plot of the movie is a standard seek-and-kill, bad versus even worse and so on.  In general a good movie without a special edge. A solid option as a date movie.

Critic 2

 

Looper is a science fiction movie with time traveling. But somehow time traveling theme is more intelligent than usually and also other themes in the movie as well. A cyclic nicely written plot leaves some mysteries to the watcher, but you shouldn't think them too much after the movie. During the movie you can just relax and enjoy the movie or you can start thinking all the thing related to time traveling. Luckily also the movie acknowledges this. Actors are better than usually.     

Judgement Star: Looper is a nice movie

 

 

Argo (2012): Ben Affleck's best... So far.

 

 Critic 1

 

Oh... The old times. It was allowed to smoke in the airplane and champagne was served even in the economy class... And there was a need for proper spies. And you really have to honor the bravery of these men. The story that Argo tells is not possible anymore. It's all too high tech nowadays. The plot of the movie is based on a true story and nice it is. Not too high flying to be unbelievable but tricky enough to be really captivating. Not much of action and the few computer effects were really lame. Setting these minor details aside Ben does a good job with this movie both as a leading actor and as a director. Argo is a good movie. Take your date to see it. 

 

Critic 2

 

Based on true story, this movie tells about an agent trying to save lives in the 70s. There was a revolution in Iran. Plot develops nicely and there are exciting moments, and you don't know how it will end (or maybe someone has heard the story in advance). The plot is realistic, no booming action scenes, but it doesn't matter. Couple of times I was thinking that did it really happened this way in reality, but in whole this moments didn't matter. Not a brilliant but a good movie with feeling of the 70's.    

Judgement Star: Argo is a good movie. Even with Ben Affleck.

Game: Angry Birds Star Wars - Business as usual.

May the bird be with you....

First of all I'm not a very big Angry Bird fan. It's nice game as it is but just too simple for me. Pointing and shooting just does not take you very far... If you are older than 5 years...

Anyhow I decided to give this a try. I downloaded the game from iTunes store on my iPad 2 with a prize of a coffee cup or two. My budget can just cope with that...

On with the game

I have some earlier versions of AB on my phone and iPad so I was surprised of the fact that this version of the game was somewhat harder to play than the previous ones. The view over the "battleground" was too tight by default and zooming left the slingshot too near to the left edge of the field. This again causes accidental shots when the finger slips over the edge of the screen. 

The game experience otherwise is similar with the other AB's. You basically point and shoot. The Star Wars theme brings some nice perks in it but is it enough? Well with this prize yes it is. And some of the levels are pretty tough if you aim for the full stars.

Beware of the mammal side in you...

 

AB is a very good business to the Rovio I recon. A simple and very addictive game.... With a dark side. To my understanding the Rovio's privacy policy states that they reserve the right to collect "non-personal" data as they wish. They should at least ask weather it's OK during the first use or something...

So if you can cope with the mild breach of privacy this is worth of your money.

-Critic#1

Star Trek - The Undiscovered Country (1991): Orders... Disobey naturally.

Critic 1

 

For once the Captain Kirk has to deal with a non-epic enemy. This time he just has to deal with Klingon empire and traitors within Starfleet. And it's a good thing. For once there is a room for proper plot development and character introduction. The epic enemy and the psychedelic images of it are not stealing the show as in some of the earlier Star Trek movies. Nice computer effects in not-so-80's style and suitable amount of action and drama. But the epic space battles were still missing. As always with the classic Star Trek movies to be watched only with a special date.   

 

Critic 2

 

This movie of Star trek saga kind of reminds me of a detective story. A peace treaty lies on an uncertain ground and the crew of the Enterprise has to save the day. The story starts a bit slowly, but when it gets going it keeps watchers interest in high level all the time. Story proceeds nicely and steadily. Sadly there are not big space fights or epic visions from outer space. But it's not a bad thing that story was not left behind of special effects. 

Judgement Star: The undiscovered Country is one of the best classic Star Treks.

Skyfall (2012): The best Bond movie so far...?

Critic 1

 

Impeccable outlook, fast cars and bold determination that the bad guys don't actually score hits. This is what I expect from the 007 character. And how I disappointed.... In a good way. Now our Mr. Bond gets shot and even slightly ragged. A human touch on the previously so inhumanly cool character. Barring the character development this was a business as usual Bond movie. The girls were beautiful (but surprisingly few) and villains were in general no mach for 007. I could spot one or two cut corners in the visual effects but nothing catastrophic. A solid choice as a date movie.  

Critic 2

 

In this latest movie James Bond is more serious than ever, most of jokes and scifi gadgets are gone. But a certain realism fits in the mood of the movie, even Bond shows signs of being only a normal human, but without loosing his coolness as being an iconic character. Some scenes reveal realistic filming beauty, which I didn't expect to see in the Bond movie. I really liked the style of the movie, when despite being an action movie it wasn't an hyperactive one, which seem to be a current trend in action movies.    

Judgement Star: A nearly perfect movie.

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.

 

Tears of Steel (2012): What ?????

Critic 1

My eye caught an note about this short movie. And short it was. Movie is an "open source" movie much like the Iron Sky but of course much less ambitious. Movie is meant as a Blender showcase.  The computer generated effects are nice but not as cool as in Iron Sky. There is not really much to say about the plot or acting. Other than some of the actors were so obviously amateurs and the plot was... Well... Nonexistent. It left me with this "What was this?" feeling. Suitable only for really fast dates...

Critic 2

A short film free to watch. It lasts only less than 15 minutes and pictures future world inhabited by humans and living machines. It was a bit hard to understand what was happening in the movie, since there were quite many incidents at the same time. Special effects were very well made for the noncommercial movie.

Judgement Star: Maybe not fair for a short movie but life is tough...

   

Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan (DVD): Genetically superior.

Critic 1

The ruthless run trough the Star Trek box continues... After seeing The Motion Picture expectations were not exactly high. But I was wrong. As the common wisdom within the www states this could be one of the best Star Treks (I'm not saying it yet...). William Shatner's role was not as prominent so his lack of acting skills did not bother that much. Again the special effects were extremely nice taken into account that the production year is 1982. And this time not so acidic. The plot was nice though some proper background setting would have been nice. It's kind of gruel to leave a bunch of people on a foreign planet... As before a spectacular movie and your date has to be also.   

Critic 2

Star Trek saga continues in a much more tightly written movie than the first one was. Old enemies of former captain Kirk rises from the past. This movie was perhaps not so spectacular than the previous one, but story flowed smoother. In this movie the space was not the great wilderness with wonders rather than a place where an adventure happened. The movie includes some personal details of the main characters past and heartbreaking moments.

The Judgement star: The Wrath of Khan is a OK movie.

 

Book: Leviathan Wakes - James S. A. Corey

Milton Friedman. Look what you have done...

A refreshing look to the not-so-distant future. The spaceships do not just mysteriously overcome the laws of physics and the level of technology in general is comprehensible to the average reader. The plot and the story flows much alike in the Song of Ice and Fire. No surprise here. James S. A. Corey is an alias for one of GRRM's assistants. But this is not just a good thing. There are only few characters and the storytelling does not fit a such small bunch of people. The world described in the book is just like I would see the status of humanity after about 200 years. The predatory capitalism of Milton Friedman has ran it's course and the true power comes with the money. Read the book and see what happens. A very good book despite the small storytelling annoyances. Waiting to read the next episode... 

 

- 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

Ghost Rider: Will waste the time of an innocent soul.

Critic 1

My head was about to burst into a flames when I watched this. Nicolas Cage had this one face acting thing going on (an example here) and the plot was made for teenagers who love the Belsebubian rock bands that do not play that loudly. The flaming head was done nicely and I would really like to know who made The Bike. Selecting a date to go with this movie is a hard thing. The date should love Satan and have a low IQ or huge crush on you in order to enjoy the movie with you. Maybe it's better to leave the movie on the discount shelf in the store...        

Critic 2 

Johnny Blaze made a bad deal, but he got a nice bike and superpowers. Now he can do death rides without actually dying. It's a bit different story than in Ghost Rider comics but tunes are the same. Visual effects in dark corners of the world look nice. The movie starts a bit slowly and continues as a metaphysical journey when supernatural beings fight with each other. Well, there was never a doubt who will win... You may love this movie but most people probably don't like it.

Judgement Star: Some very very mixed feelings here.

   

Literature and Science Fiction event Lokacon 2012

Event is gone and done. I hear it was a good event.

-Critic#1

Literature and science fiction event at Jyväskylä Finland. Themes of the event are steampunk and of course current topic of the end of the world. Guests of the event are Finnish writers Katri Alatalo and Magdalena Hai. Anne Leinonen will interview them. Katja Kontturi will tell how Duckburg almost meet her end. The program will be in Finnish.   

http://scifi42.fi/lokacon/

- Critic #2

Star Trek - The Motion Picture (DVD): Scotty! Gimme acting skills!

Critic 1

A movie made in a true spirit of the Star Trek. Horrible acting, teasing uniforms (yeah.. Try to make your female employee wear something like that. See you in court.) and impossible problems. Ah... Those were the days. This movie has a odd mix of terrible computer generated scenes and beautiful scale model episodes. The visual effects in general are something that LSD trip would generate... I guess. Make no mistake. This is an extraordinary movie and your date has to be too....      

Critic 2 

In the future a mankind sends spaceships to the outer space and men have encountered many alien species. Maybe the phase of the movie seems to be a bit slow for watchers today. Somehow I got the feeling that the other space movie 2001: A Space Odyssey has been a big influence for those who made this movie. The feeling that space is kinda poetic place is enhanced with long visual scenes   where you can meet strange things and get experiences beyond your senses.

Judgement Star: If just William Chatner could actually act. This would be a excellent movie.

Blade Runner - The final Cut (DVD) : Do you have to like the classics?

Critic 1

I finally took some time and watched this classic science fiction movie. I can see why this movie is considered a classic but I can also see why the initial response was not so good. The plot is rather simple and Harrison Ford does not convince in a serious role. Some of the effects are really nice. So nice that the modern computer generated systems have hard time to follow. In overall the IMDB score of 8.3 is too much. If you want to spend some time with a entertaining movie pick some other. If you want to civilize yourself this is a good option. Risky as a first date movie... You may give a wrong impression.   

Critic 2 

This movie tells about about a dystopian future of mankind who has created artificial humans. But sometimes it's hard to know who is really a human and in what standards. It was nice to watch this movie again. I didn't remember that it dealt with some many different themes and how the layers of story fold up nicely when you watch it multiple times. The movie describes very visually the future world and feeling of dystopia is very real.  Main tune of the movie is kind of sad. I watched the director's cut version and now I'm curious to see the original theater version with narrator included.

Judgement Star: Some mixed feelings here.

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The Bourne Legacy: Can talk the talk. Can't walk the walk.

Fresh from the movies...

Critic 1

Where is the tension? Where is the intelligence? A lot of talking and distracting flashbacks from the Bourne Ultimatum. I can see that the movie is very hard to follow for those who have not seen the previous Bournes. The few action bits were done with care and the casting had been done nicely. Solid option for a first dates. Not too much of splatter or excess violence. Be prepared to explain all the previous Bourne movies though...

Critic 2 

The movie tells another agent in a similar program as Jason Bourne was. Even not present in the movie Bourne still causes trouble to Bournes former superiors. When people on higher echelons start to act there will be collateral damages. Aaron Cross is not going to be one who will be trampled on. A beautiful science woman also tags along, but Aaron doesn't mind. Basic plot is very simple but bad guys talk about projects, processes, etc. and are trying to deceive those who watch the movie so that they would think it's difficult or clever movie. The movie is ok action movie but when it belong to Bourne series I was expecting more. It brings to you the world's best agent after Jason Bourne, seriously, this guy...    

Judgement Star: The Bourne Legacy is a good movie even without Matt Damon.

Book: The Saga of Seven Suns - Kevin J. Anderson

May the mysterious blobs raise

I'll review the whole Saga of Seven Suns as a one maybe that is how the author Kevin J. Anderson meant it be. As with the movies I'll try to describe weather I got value with my money.

The Saga of Seven Suns is a great epic if the shelf millimeters are considered. It consists of 7 books, several hundreds of pages each so an e-book is a viable option.

The story itself is something of a basic Sci-Fi stuff. Mystical ways to travel around stars, ancient enemies and sleazy politicians. Nothing really extraordinary. The Apple bookstore seems to be selling these books with seven Euros or less. If you want to spend some time with a good Sci-Fi this is a good option. Buy it from the discount shelf though.

- Critic #1

The scoring system is a self explanatory I guess...

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

Note: The average core from Goodreads is about 3.8 ! 

Cosmopolis (2012): A mildly difficult movie.

Critic 1

If you prefer a movies that don't need concentrating this is not for you. Movie takes place mainly in a limousine where a arrogant businessman bounces his subordinates around. The dialog probably has some philosophical depths in it but I need much more wine before getting grasp of it. Get a date with a philosophy degree and reserve a few bottles of wine. Not good otherwise.

Critic 2 

The movie tells about incredible rich golden boy who goes around New York in a limousine. Maybe this movie was an allegory or maybe it was a dream with random sequences or maybe main character did take too much drugs. If you watch this you can decide on your own does the movie make sense or not.

Judgement Star: It's a wild guess with the Cosmopolis.

The Bourne Ultimatum: 007 with a fieldcraft.

Critic 1

As a teaser before the upcoming Bourne Legacy we'll review the previous Bourne movie. The movie flows on with this deceptive slow phase. Action coils around itself during the last minutes and keeps the tension up until the end. The Booms and crashes are made superbly and script is complicated enough. A good choice if you are dating "a rough" girl.

Critic 2 

Third movie of agent Jason Bourne saga. It helps to understand the movie if you have seen two previous ones on series, but it's not neccessary. Again Jason Bourne is in trouple in agent business and he want's to survive (well who doesn't...). The topic is kinda same as previous Bourne movies, but it's an excellent action movie with an actual plot.

Judgement Star: The Bourne Ultimatum is an excellent movie.

Cars 2 : A safe choice for everybody.

Critic 1

The expectations were high after seeing the original Cars (2006). The sequel did a good job fulfilling these. Making the Mater the leading character was a really good idea. He's got a lot more edge in him that the goldie boy lightning. The plot was as expected for a computer generated movie. Funny and easy going movie. A good option for the first dates.

Critic 2 

A computer animation sequel about world where cars are alive and talking. It helps if you remember something from the first movie, but this movie focuses on different main characters and larger environment than one village. Very good animation and candy colored graphics. Basically children's movie, but storyline might be complicated for small children.

Judgement Star: Cars 2 is a solid movie.

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Alien Raiders (DVD): A genuine B-movie.

Critic 1

Movie almost filled it's expectations because I was not expecting much. The plot was not overly ingenious and the set was very limited. It felt like a crossbreed between Alien and Friends.... Some fancy make-ups though. Good if your date likes shady B-movies.  

Critic 2 

Didn't care about this movie. Too violent to watch on the first thing when you woke up. Some disoriented alien stuff. 

Judgement Star: A shapeless blob indicating a true B-movie.

Our reviews compared with IMDB.

Did you know that http://www.imdb.com/ is one of the oldest active www sites?
And to my mind it has lost it's edge when it comes to reviews. There are so many critics
that the movie score is usually between 6 and 7 due to the Gaussian behavior of large human masses.

As you can see from the following. We consider bad movies BAD and good movies GOOD. 

Our reviews (star average) compared with the IMDB score.

 

Other good reviews...

Here are some other good reviews and stuff. From persons/entities I know to be upright.

• Board gaming, tech, science & politics from Finland 
• http://www.saimaanrannanmaalari.com/ 

More will follow....

Lawless: Hillbillies Hurraa!!!

Critic 1

An excellent description of life in the backwoods of USA. You are what you are on basis of what you can do and deliver. The weak will perish. The settings of the movie are really authentic... You can almost smell the cow manure. Plot is simple but if you think that somebody actually lived trough something like that it kind of brings it into a perspective. No useless characters or too long lull episodes. Remember to ease your arm around your date during the bar fight scene. 

Critic 2

An interesting and well written movie depicting small town in the 1920's USA during prohibition law. Actors gave good performances and settings were excellent, so movie gave "real feeling". From the trailer you might get an impression that Gary Oldman has a big role in the movie, but it's only advertisement trick. There are some nasty violent scenes, but they only show that hitting really hurts.

Judgement Star: Excellent movie.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Total waste of your time!

Critic 1

The local movie culture in our country is so that you don't walk out from the theaters if the movie is bad (or worse). During this movie this did happen. And for a good reason. The vampires are sexy yes...But not in this movie. If the acting, effects and plot sucks there is nothing to do. DO NOT APPROACH !!! 

Critic 2

Maybe I didn't understand this movie, either it lost a lot of potential or it was intentionally badly written. The movie contained some very nice visual scenes, but they didn't save the movie. Walker actually somewhat resembles Lincoln from real pictures, but otherwise his action was quite expressionless. The name of the movie promised more than you got.

Judgement Star: Total waste of time.

UPCOMING REVIEWS... Probably...

Due to simple financial reasons we can't review all the new movies. Here is what we are going
to watch in the near future.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) Done. Post here.

Skyfall Done. Post here.
Killer Joe (Forgotten)
The Bourne Legacy (2012) Winner of a recent poll. Will be reviewed. Done. Review here.
Cosmopolis (2012) Done. Our post here.
Lawless (2012) Done. Our post here.


Yes. We will start comparing our judgements with IMDB rating in some point....
Done. Comparison here.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Solid quality!

Critic 1

Not surprisingly a very good movie that lives up to it's expectations compared to Sherlock Holmes (2009). However the surprise element is now gone. Again the movie is kind of dark with not-so-perfect computer generated effects... But who cares? Action and plot are the carrying forces. I find the Noomi Rapaces gipsy character to be just an annoyance but otherwise casting is good. Solid option for a first date movie... If you can stand all the witting.

Critic 2

Gears go higher and Holmes meets a strong enemy. Not so much of character development, but more action. Although plot is revealed a bit after bit which fitted the movie. Downey and Law are continuing to cast one of their best roles. And it's steampunk, so the movie can't be bad. I Also liked the the music of both Holmes movies.

Judgement Star: A solid movie with a few weak points.

Iron Sky: We demand a better script!

Critic 1

I would really like to give this movie a better score but I just can't. I expected something much more simpler based on the Pirkinning. Beautiful to watch but really dull to listen apart of the few good jokes. The dialog and the plot kind of lagged behind throughout the movie. Even with faults the plot of the movie was really unique and combined with the extremely artistic visual effects makes the movie worth your money. Caution with your date. Tolerance of artistic and scifi movies must be high. And it will not hurt if your date has a right wing party membership.       

Critic 2

A nice science fiction movie and showy graphics, I liked kind of old fashioned script. Actors were surprisingly good. Includes also maybe some space battles and black humor.

Judgement Star: Fairly balanced but not extraordinary movie.

Sherlock Holmes (2009): Insists to be seen.

Critic 1

A very clever but dark movie. I guess that the darkness in the movie is hiding lack of expensive props or something. Robert gives the old chap some new edge without teasing the poor Dr. Watson too much. If you like witty dialog and complicated plots this is for you. Try not to outwit your date during the rest of the evening. You will fail... For sure.         

Critic 2

Very nice steampunk movie. In this movie Dr. Watson is not some old stupid man who is praising Holmes, but more equal with him. Themes from Doyle's short strories can be recognized dressed in different clothes. Downey, Law and many others are excellent in their roles.

Judgement Star: The Critic 2 has some soft spots for R. Downey Jr.