Pussikaljaelokuva, 3 stars (+1 for Kallio images)

 books, movie reviews  Comments Off
Apr 032012
 

Pussikaljaelokuva posterI loved Mikko Rimminen’s Pussikaljaromaani, a novel that combined utter slackery with industrial strength verbal acrobatics. My expectations of Pussikaljaelokuva, the movie of the book were on the mild side, and the result was indeed lukewarm. Not exactly disappointing, but nowhere near the lofty heights of the original.

Though the original plot is retained (where a trio of aimless young men spend a lazy day in Kallio, the slackeringest neighborhood in Helsinki), the story is muddled by additions. Neither a series of comical encounters with policemen nor a budding romance is worthwhile, and both sap the energy generated by the leading men. Indeed, the delightful streamofconsciousness of the original has been toned down, in favour of a more conventional approach.

The story takes place on a single summer day in Helsinki. And the environs are shown in their beauty, ugliness and eccentricity. A full bonus point on account of the imagery – claimed by anybody for whom the streets, bars and passersby in Kallio are more than just scenery.

Awkward things happen, to an appropriate soundtrack.

Not a movie for everybody, but an impressive debut for Ville Jankeri, and good clean fun for two hours.

Princess Bride, 5 stars

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Apr 022012
 

Princess Bride posterRob Reiner’s Princess Bride did not make much of a splash in Finland back in 1987. I failed to notice it utterly.

Thus, in the early nineties, upon reaching the wilderlands of Usenet, references to Dread Pirate Roberts or Inigo Montoya’s quest were more or less incomprehensible. Without the current tools of ignorance-dispelling (IMDB, wikipedia and google) I was at a loss.

And it took a while before I managed to see the film. Way too long. Up until the dvd arrived as format of choice, the film continued to elude me.

But what a discovery it was, when I finally got a hold of the movie and sat down to watch.

A splendidly distilled fairytale-y story that contains almost all of the quintessentials of the genre. But one that decidedly remains low on the magic and supernatural, though they are both present.

A buddy movie of epic proportions. Where, obviously, the characters are initially sworn enemies when they meet.

A bunch of villains so treacherous they could Edmund Blackadder a semester’s worth of lessons in evil.

A cast packed with familiar faces and introduction of new ones. Mel Smith! Peter Cook! Christopher Guest! Peter Falk! An Billy Crystal masked almost beyond recognition.

And as a bonus, Wallace Shawn as the leader of the henchmen, permanently exasperated, never short of plans, occasionally vocabularly challenged.

A framing device that feels natural and unforced.

Excellent dialogue. With lines that occasionally crosses the border with our reality. And with lines that point towards Monty Python as well.

Many directors would be happy with a single five star movie – Rob Reiner cooked up two (this and Spinal Tap) and hovered close on a few others.

Princess Bride is heavy on the whimsy, heavy on the satire, and comes heavily recommended, especially to other finns who might have been entirely deprived of the experience on account of the film’s low profile domestically.

Reverb Gamers #31: If not

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Apr 022012
 

How would your life be different if you’d never gotten into gaming?

Impossible to say for sure, since the butterfly effect and chaos theory render any choice either earth-shattering or inconsequential.

But it’s probably safe to say that it would be more boring, probably a bit more anti-social, and certainly without a wonderful bunch of friends bonded over polyhedral dice, character sheets and sheer panic on account of inbound rakshasas/tyranids/and whatever adversaries met and overcome during the years.

Movie Monday #43: The Team

 movie monday  1 Response »
Apr 022012
 

This week’s task in Movie Monday is to assemble a team to defend the Earth.

I kept the selection limited to contemporary and non-supernatural individuals – the likes of Superman would make things too easy.

  • First of all, I would employ Keyser Söze/Kevin Spacey to scare and intimdate the invaders.
  • Jude Law/Vassili Zaitsev would take care of eliminating the leaders from afar (though Simo Häyhä would be an even better choice, I couldn’t find a movie about the greatest sniper ever).
  • Snake Plissken/Kurt Russel would be the best all-around guy – getting things done, no matter what the opposition is.
  • To use whichever weapons are available or improvised, there’s no better man than John Matrix/Arnold Schwarzenegger. And he’s also very good with one-liners. In times of war the importance of overly macho one-liners can never be underestimated.
  • And finally, any character played by Rob Schneider, mainly because the war needs disposable decoys.

Movie Monday #43: The Team.

Popular culture in LEGO

 craft, design  Comments Off
Apr 022012
 

Popular culture LEGOsEight groups of LEGO figures from their advertising campaign, renderings of figure more or less familiar from popular culture.

This image shows half of them, the rest (including the toughest bunch for non-Americans) is available from the original source.

And there’s bound to be followups, too.

Game of the Week: Trainyard

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Apr 012012
 

Trainyard logoMatt Rix’s Trainyard was one of the very first games I purchased for the iPad, and one that I still enjoy occasionally.

Trainyard is a puzzle game where the aim is to build tracks to get various train engines to their destinations. The goal is complicated by the color requirements of the trains – the trains change color upon crossing each other and this ability is needed on most of the non-trivial levels.

The game itself is accompanied with a large and well-behaving community, where solutions to various levels are debated and optimized relentlessly in addition to members competing to create new content for the game. After all, the engine itself is simple, but stretches to very complex demands.

The user interface is exquisitely smooth, the difficulty curve pleasantly inclined and all in all the game’s been worth way more than its three dollar asking price.

And with a site explaining the theory and practice of track arrangement, it’s even easier to become a track-laying monster in the matter of a few well-spent hours.

Reverb Gamers #30: The +

 reverb gamers  Comments Off
Apr 012012
 

What lessons have you taken from gaming that you can apply to your real life?

The biggest takeaway is the ability to adapt, to react on the spot unfazed.

Countless unexpected situations have taught me to wing it on almost any subject with a reasonably high degree of conviction. This comes in, obviously, very useful when dealing with almost any topic at work.

After a complex campaign of crisscrossing plotlines and way too many NPCs to keep track of ensure that ordinary multitasking requirements are not that complex.

Portrayal of hundreds of characters of very variable intellect, goals and dispositions pretty much dictates that imagination and sense of humour have developed during the courses of conversations by and with imaginary people.

Collaboration against insurmountable odds, everyday probabilities and above all, a knack for coming up with plans is a second nature after years as a player.

Movie Monday #42: Sports

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Apr 012012
 

Any Given Sunday poster Oliver Stone’s 1999 Any Given Sunday was many things for me:

  • Proof that Oliver Stone was still alive (and not only directing political dramas on horse tranquillizers).
  • Proof that Cameron Diaz could work beyond the confines of comedy.
  • Proof that I’d completely forgotten how good James Woods was (and here, very appropriately cast in the opportunistic team doctor).
  • Proof that Al Pacino was still the man.
  • Proof that Oliver Stone can write monologues that effortlessly straddle the thin line between inspiring and utterly over the top.
  • Proof that I’ve been hooked by american football for life.
  • And finally proof, once again, that LL Cool J never dies in his movies.

Movie Monday #42: Sports.

Movie Monday #41: A place to be

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Apr 012012
 

Lego Death StarFor me one of the ultimate destinations architecture-wise would be the Death Star.

A single-task construct of immense cost that contains both clinically sterile sections yet is plagued by man-eating monsters in its trash disposal system.

The Lego take on Death Star is seriously off-scale. According to a study in Wired, the model would be the largest object ever built on Earth (and appropriately expensive, too).

Movie Monday #41: A place to be.

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