Eating Muffins in an Agitated Manner

Decimus of Smaug

Posted by jukkahoo

I like it! 'Twas a fun 161 minutes, well worth the admission fee (guest premiere, thanks Mikael!). *grin*

The second Hobbit movie is a lot like the first one, almost nonstop-action fanfic disguised as Tolkien. Most of the stuff I remember from the book (although I must emphasize again, that I haven't actually never read The Hobbit, only Lohikäärmevuori [the first Finnish translation, a wonderfully simplified version], though I did read that quite a number of times) was not-quite-as-I-remember and there were several additions that were on occasion either entertaining or just plain what-the-fuck?

The orcs are plentiful and all over the place, there's far too little Gunvald, Thranduil is brilliant, I approve of Tauriel, there are NO LAWS OF PHYSICS, Smaug is divine worm, Martin Freeman is spot on perfect, Brad the Archer is again peterjacksonified (not a positive comment) as are the interminable action sequences, and while the escape from Mirkwood is barrel of fun, there are just too bloody many orcs. And Dol Guldur. Why? Or the Nazgûl prison of Azkaban. Whatthe? And dwarf/elf romance???

Kudos to Jackson for his restrained use of spiders and glorious visuals. But for the love of Reason, is there no bloody health & safety in Middle Earth? Are railings for wimps and not something for neither elves nor dwarves? Jeebus!

Ah, but Smaug! Glorious and beautiful. Terrific. Definite.

And Martin Freeman. Well done, sir. Well done.

All in all, good film, on occasion great. Nearly three hours long, but didn't feel like that. And despite all I've said above, there was much more to like than not.

Short and sweet (and sour). Go see it!

Octavus

Posted by jukkahoo

Bejeezus! YLE Teema (the best channel on telly) had Snow Patrol (USA, 1940) on - and what a film it was! Winter War breaks out and little mountain village on the border is threathened by the invading Russians. The lofty border mountains are filled with battle after battle, when the pesky Soviets bombard the heroic Finns. Well, not necessarily that heroic, but nevertheless.

Not only is this stunningly unrealistic in every imaginable way, the mountain dwelling Finns seem to be Swedish-speakers (Birger, Tyko, Viktor, Gustaf etc), which does explain the large and well-stocked cabins but this is apparently alternate history as well. No, not because there are mountains on the border. It's possible that most viewers won't even notice the historical inaccuracy in the beginning of the film, where Viktor and his Russian friend/competitor Ivan are battling it out with the 18 km crosscountry ski-race. 

Now, 18km, not that often used distance. Nor are often tracks quite so... downhilly. But those are just mere details when one remembers that Soviet Union first participated Olympics in Helsinki, in 1952. And first Winter Olympics in 1956, in Cortina. Not so much in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936.

Ski Patrol is mercifully short (64 min) and is very average b-movie in all respects, with silly dialogue and stilted acting. And some really nice winter footage from a German war movie (Berge in Flammen, 1932). It's lurid and unrealistic, but as a Finn I enjoyed it for what its worth. And a movie that ends with a line like: "The penalty for traitors is DEATH!", followed by a BIG BAD BOOM!, cannot possibly be all that bad.

Yes, beer? Brakspear Triple is a... oh, 6,7%, so it's a strong ale. Doesn't taste all that alcoholic, but after few sips it is evident that this is potent stuff. Not bitter, sweet and mellow more like, and well drinkable. Hoppy, malty and tasty.

I think I'm gonna skip the tv-series this time, since it'd be foolish to try to top Ski Patrol. Here's your arbitrary link though. I'm tired.

Ostium primus

Posted by jukkahoo

It is the season of opening doors (or in my case, the caps) from your advent calendar. Like last year, I thought that beer goes well with the wait for the Man in Red to make his appearance. Unlike last year, I won't be talking about films I've recently seen. No, this years calendar will focus on the world of television, since that is where most of the interesting stuff is happening.

Mind you, I may go with entertainment and the attainment of gratification over edumacation and edutainment. My opinions are my own and should not be seen as word of Dog. Although Mogens does have very strong opinions that one should take seriously. 

Today's beer is Belfast Bay's McGovern's Oatmeal Stout. Very dark colour, almost pitch black and the flavour lingers along that same dark line. Very roasty, bitter (but not too much), smooth stout. Lovely drink. Aftertaste is dark, a bit musty but pleasant. And then it gets a bit coffee-like? Great start for the calendar. Belfast Bay also brews a very nice red Lobster Ale.

The series of the day is Warehouse 13. It is one of the Syfy-series that have a tenuous connection with each others (Eureka, Alphas and W13). I like W13 (as I just started calling it for short) a LOT. It is fun, entertaining and galore of popular culture references. (Eureka is great too, but Alphas is a bore.)

W13 is a mixture of Indiana Jones, X-Files and romantic comedy. It's light and fluffy, not the least because of its brilliant casting choices, but it packs a lot of punch with its gallery of interesting guest characters (H. G. Wells, I'm talking about you!). Highy recommended if you want to spend time taking it easy and without the ever present "long arch of the show" bogging down the flow of the episodes. This is mainly artifact of the episode -kind of a show, but the script includes a lot of backstory and character interaction that carries from episode to episode. Four full seasons so far, with a six-episode fifth miniseason coming is 2014.

The arbitrary recommendation of the day is Lonkeropiirakan joulukalenteri. Yes, in Finnish, but this is another great seasonal calendar with a theme of 30 Day Film Challenge. Looking forward to their various choices. As to their first day's question, I fully support Grandpa Cthulhu's pick of Shichinin no samurai. It is a truly great movie and what he says about it is spot on, other than the fact that to me the action scenes are *not* clear, but very chaotic and *realistic* in that sense. Korppisusi has a very interesting choice, Aeon Flux. I cannot for the life of me remember that much from the film, but I'd be hard to call it a masterpiece.

My choice? Confidental Report (aka. Mr. Arkadin), surely.

Day Eve

Posted by jukkahoo

Here in Finland, the Christmas Eve is the day when the Great Feast takes place, presents are given and most of things happen. The following day is quiet, comtemplative affair. Some might say solemn.

Since proper Xmas calendars have 24 windows and the traditionally crateful beginnings of a beer calendar have similar number of bottles, this is the last one. Here goes:

Mikkeller Red White Christmas beer is mix of Pale Ale and Belgian Wheat. And what a mix it is, too!HOPS ahoy and then some! Very citrusy flavour, caramelly and malty, explosive amount of details filling your mouth as you drink this one. I don't find really any witbier from this one, it's much too alcoholic (8%) for that, perhaps? Truly remarkable head that tastes delish itself! A bit gingery even, orange, spicy and malty. Very complex, no beer for casual drinking this one! Still looking for the xmasy though. Very good.

This usually the moment in time, when all the threads and pieces are collected together for some kind of a brilliant conclusion. This is perhaps the time to present the best book/film of the year. Or to have another one of those themes like, say, Xmas? Unfortunately I don't have anything of the sort. The only even remotely xmassy film I remember seeing this year is about half of Love Actually, when came from the telly. I have no recollection of any xmassy moments in any of the books I've read.

I voted for Jo Walton's Among Others at the Hugo Best Novel category, so I'm going to go with it as the best, or at least most intriguing and endearing book of the year for me. Excellent novel about growing up, finding SF and your place in the world. Read the book and then come to Swecon next year, and meet the author as well!

Was Avengers (2012) best film of this year? Probly not, but it was fun nevertheless. After the disappointing Ironman 2, interesting Thor and decently entertaining Captain America, I didn't know what to espect, but clearly something along the lines Joss Whedon had in mind: whedonesque dialogue, thrills, action galore and properly superhero-style banter and cameraderie. Best part? By far: "Puny god"

Was Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) best film of this year? Again, not sure, but it was a great film. Brilliant ensemble cast, where everyone incites everyone else into even more excellent performance. Great stuff! Slow-paced, but rightly so, this is still Usain Bolt action compared to sadate Sunday stroll of the original tv-series with sir Alec Guinness. Both are excellent, as are the Le Carré booksies.

Most excellent and happy holidays to you all! Who knows, what next year brings to us all? Well, Le Docteur does!

Day Twenty-Three

Posted by jukkahoo

Oakham Ales makes todays beer: Inferno is a bitter Pale Ale. The pertinent bitter taste was perhaps not what I was expecting, but after the palate got used to it, this was a great tasting ale. Somewhat citrusy.

Heart of Iron is a steampunk novel with a divergence point in a succesful Dekabrist rebellion in Russia. With a cast of (real-life Dekabrist-rebellion leader's daughter) Sasha, her daunting aunt Evgenia, famed spymaster Florence Nightingale, a young man who could well be the notorious Spring-Heeled Jack and several more or less interesting suppporting role players, Ekaterina Sedia has created a YA alternate history that manages to bring 19th century tsarist Russia to life fantastic. Heart of Iron is fairly short, but requires somewhat careful reading as the society it depicts has its own peculiarities. The plot is fairly straightforward, but Sedia manages to lure readers into following various McGuffins, while the real gist of it all is going somewhere else completely.

I liked the way the author depicts the Russian psyche, there's definitely that melancholic feel to it, as well as that imperial self-awareness that went away during the Soviet-era. All in all, the society feels right, the clear class and race divides exist, and the way people portray their inherent superiority (real or not) feels real. This is a good book and if Sedia manages to write a sequel (as she is pondering), I'd be more than happy to  have a go at that too.

For a couple of crusaders who've been on the road of pillaging and wanton destruction for more than a decade, Kal-El Cage and Hellboy-Perlman sure do have a great set of dentures. Season of the Witch (2011) is a historical fantasy-film that moves our buddy couple from the Holy Lands to Wallachia, where bad stuff happens, because witch. Most reviewers hated the film and if we're being Frank and Ernest here, this isn't the Citizen Kane of historical nor fantasy films. It's fairly decent action flick, that has a fair budget, thus there are good effects and nice looking grime and filth in the 14th century Holy Roman Empire. Cage and Perlman are good enough as a couple of weary warriors. It's 90 minutes of "ihan kiva" entertainment. I'm sure I would've hated this one if I'd had any expectations. Without them I was able to enjoy this as it is, an Uwe Boll directed contemporary "version" of The Seventh Seal done with competence.

One other thing. On occasion it seems like historical films come in pairs. There were the various Robin Hood, Columbus and Highland heroes pairings, more recently the Ancient Roman age tales of Centurion and Eagle, and now Season of the Witch and Black Death (2010) starring Sean Bean. The last reason is itself a reason to see the film, but it is all good. Gripping, realistic and spellbinding 14th century rural Britain getting to know the bubonic plague. The film looks good, the dialogue is convincing and themes strong and interesting. Truly a Wicker Man for the Middle Ages. And the ending really packs a punch.

As music videos go, Just an Illusion is not among the top contenders for Best Ever. The song itself, however, was always a favourite of mine. I've never been particularily big on soul etc, but Imagination had that certain sönösekuu, what ever it was. Perhaps it's just the fact that they are English?

Merry Xmas everyone!

Day Twenty-Two

Posted by jukkahoo

Schmucker's Rosé Bock is a strong (8%) beer that warms them cold cuckolds that are well chilled when bracing the harsh Helsinki elements these days. I though the alcohol didn't taste too strongly when I drunk the bock, but it could've been a bit too cold as I did drink it straight from the fridge. There's a nice warm sensation making rounds in your belly after a pint of this and some nice nosh. Definitely something to try again. 

Mazarkis Williams is a newcomer in the field of fantastic fiction. His debut novel The Emperor’s Knife starts a series (Tower and Knife Trilogy) of non-western fantasy books. Like Saladin Ahmed's Throne of the Crescent Moon, this book takes its lead from the East, namely steppes and mountains of the central Asia. There's some Mongol influence, some Samarkandish/Silk Road feel to it, some 1000 and one night mysticism and your garden variety mad Ottoman empire stuff. I like the setting and expecially the lone figure of the ruler's brother in his lonely prison cell, very much in the vein of Kefes of the Ottoman habit of confinement of the heirs of the sultan.There are lots of necessary accoutrements like viziers, assassins and Wise Man on the Mountain -type of mystic Pattern Master.

The mysterious sickness called Pattern that threatens the well-being of the Cerani Empire. People are losing their minds and rumour is that the emperor himself is tainted. Hilarity ensues. Or not exactly. The Emperor's Knife is slow-going, interesting, but sligthly over-ambitious attempt to create a spellbinding setting, cool magic system and doom-laden characters. It succeeds in most parts, though this could've benefitted from tighter writing and some finetuning. Its ornateness suits it, yet there is a  relatively small cast of characters that populate the story, perhaps even a bit too sparse a number. There is also a smidgen of K. J. Parker -like brooding doom to it all, but I'll guess that the ending of this series is not going to be as gloom as Parker's novels tends to be. I will read more if sequels happen to be cheaply acquired.

Contemporary French action movies are pretty darn great, as are some of the few historical films I've seen (well, good more than great in case of historicals). Contemporary French science fiction movies are pretty great, too. I haven't watched contemporary French horror, but those that have, usually have good things to say about those. When you add these things together, you'll have Stranded (2010).

As a matter of fact, I dodn't know what to expect from this one. I had seen the impressive Algerian war depiction Intimate Enemies quite recently and was looking for something along that vein. Anthony Quinn starring Lost Command (based on the classic war novel The Centurions) was decent, but dearly aged. Stranded was French, set in 1960 and there were people trapped behind enemy lines. Gotta get.

Stranded is well acted, well directed, and well laid out. There is relatively little dialogue, it is moody, atmospheric and surprising. At least I was, when I realized that we're not in Kansas anymore, which was a very pleasant surprise indeed. There is a lot of sand. A LOT of sand. And then some.

Cool Zombie is a new single from my childhood hero Adam Ant. If the Golden Age of Science Fiction is 12, as Peter Graham famously said, the same goes with music. I was twelve when Kings of the Wild Frontier came out. Never recovered from that, thank you very much! Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter is the sixth solo studio album by the Man himself and is out in January. A bit mixed feelings about the single, as it does sound like a twangy bluegrass song sung by Bob Dylan impersonator, which are neither the highest compliment in my book. It has grown on me though. I have fairly high hopes for the album, all the bits and pieces I've heard so far are pure Antmusic! Yay!

Day Twenty-one

Posted by jukkahoo

There was so much beer consumed yesterday (and today) that I don't really have one particular beer for today, so I'll make an arbitrary lottery here. Just a minute. (♫elevator music♬) And the winner is... Thornbridge Sequoia! This is an amber ale, smooth, very drinkable beer. Easy describes this ale very well.

Time to remind people of the awesomeness of Australian speculative fiction. Twelft Planet Press (an amazing Australian Small Press) has a wonderful, intriguing, mind-blowing, intelligent and ass-kicking series called Twelve Planets, a 12-part short story collections by twelve Australian women writers. Narrelle M. Harris' Showtime is one of these. Four horror stories of verious degree of scary and funny (mostly funny). I wasn't too thrilled by the first one (Stalemate), where the denouement is evident from the beginning. In hindsight, I appreciate it more. Thrall is a loving take on the age old vampire gag. The Truth About Brains gets zombie stories spot on and the title story mixes everything to a very satisfying conclusion. These stories are about families and subverting the readers preconceptions about familiar monsters. Highly recommended.

Valhalla Rising (2009) is really intensive, gritty viking adventure that travels a great deal from the grimy, violent beginning to the eerie, violent ending. There's toughness that is almost inpenetrable, bleak, barren landscapes and minimal visuals, and a lot of blood. This is almost a silent movie with very matter-of-fact dialogue and the acidity of the ending.

Valhalla Rising is a brutal, harsh and beautiful low-key (and budget) historical movie, that deals with ideas of faith, belief and the futility of it all. It is occasionally slow going, but nothing Tarkovskian or even Kaurismäki-like. Well, maybe the latter. In its heart this is a 70's film with contemporary visuals and as 70's movies go, Star Wars - A New Hope is an exception to the rule. :)

Who would've thought that this would turn into one of the most evocative, intriguing, elusive, exceptional pop music acts of the 80's? Five albums of sheer brialliance, from purest of pop, to melancholy masterpieces and finally the far-out soundscapes. Bliss.

Day Birthday

Posted by jukkahoo

Yes, I'm 45 today. Last year has been fairly rough and I'm slowly beginning to realise that my contribution for the Finnish fandom is on the ebb, my day job is taking much more time and effort that I'd prefer, and other interests, while still being very interesting and worthwhile, are probably better left in the hands of others, preferably younger ones.

Therefore I'll start downshifting next year. 2013 will be my last Finncon as a chair and I'll try (hah!) to get rid of couple of other things as well. There's still so much I want to do, but clearly I cannot manage them all. Or perhaps a quiet lull of few years might get them juices flowing again? Who knows? (Yeah, yeah, the Shadow knows...)

But it hasn't been all doom and gloom, no sirree! There has been lot of great, wonderful and lovely things too! Senor Mogens has been tons of fun and Setämies-Martti gets gruffier by each passing year. Work has been getting slightly more interesting with added obligations and tasks. And fandom! Love you guys! There is a good momentum going on and we should keep up with it. 2012 has been a good, if laborious one. 2013 is allowed to be the same, as long as I get to rest a lot more.

The festive beer is Liefmans Glühkriek. Ah,the warm cherry infused beer! That spells seasonal greetings. There's plenty o'spicyness too. Warming, enticing drink. Whole bottle of 0.7 liters is a bit much though for one person. I may have to save something for tomorrow.

Ernest Cline's Ready Player One was one of the most fun books I read this year. Not the best, nor the most interesting, but a lot of fun. For someone like me who grew up in the late 70's and 80's, the book is filled with odd bits of arcana and memories nearly forgotten, as well as pop culturally relevant tidbits and lore. There's a lot that doesn't ring a bell, though. I was never a gamer and my musical influences were British and more punk/New Wave/Electronic. If therfe'd been a bit more Adam & the Ants et al, I could well consider this the Bestest Book ever. Now, it is a very good "lukuromaani" about reality-entertainment, computers, pop culture and games. Points for Monty Python references and excellent translation by J. Pekka Mäkelä, kudos! Surely the right man for the job! ("Don't call me Shirley!")

I didn't intend to watch Last Boyscout (1991) again, but when I was fiddling with my Netflix apps at work, I ended up watching the entire film on a lunch break (what a surprisingly short film!). It is still excellent overthetop-action ride it was when I watched it for the first time in Bio Rex with some friends over twenty years ago. From the moment "life's a bitch" to dancing the jig, I was utterly mesmerized by the visuals of younger Scott, snappy dialogue of Shane Black and the chemistry between Mr. Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans. Sheer unadulterated entertainment. Best. Movie. Ever.

I shall now Let the Happiness In.

 

Day Nineteen

Posted by jukkahoo

Dark from Brains Brewery. Rich, nutty, creamy ale. Vey quaffable. :)

For the longest time, I had problems with zombies, or more precisely, with fiction where zombies where depicted. Why should I really care about the written word, when the visual media presents the monsters that much more entertainingly? That all changed after reading Mira Grant's first Newsflash-novel Feed.

Feed was a fun romp of zombie-filled world, with bloggers, presidental race, betrayal, idealism, hope and ultimately disaster - as any genre-knowledgable zombie-story does. The writing in these books is very good, fast-paced, descriptive yet plot-moving, exciting and most importantly, FUN. Mira (Seanan McGuire) Grant has written fair number of romantically spiced urban fantasies and knows how to tell a story. I was therefore a bit vexed by the second Newsflesh-novel Deadline. It is fun, action-packed and all that, but also too long, too wordy and the terrible ending of the first book just gets mangled by the ending of this one. It all went from "How terrible, brave and gutsy thing to do as a writer" to "wait, wot?" Stil a good read, but several paces behind the first book. WIll the pace hold, will the Hugo-nominators choose the third part as well? If so, I will read Blackout. Otherwise, I'm afraid there are too many books I want to read before that one.

Now I like pirates. And pirate stories. I have a soft spot for Cutthroat Island, for goodness sake! I even like Pirates of the Caribbean. A bit at least. Thus I was bitterly disappointent with the pirate section in the middle of The Adventures of Tintin (2011), when the breakneck pace the movies had been running with suddenly just stalled and then pretty much just stopped. The movie itself is good-looking, action-packed, entertaining (albeit only just about), filled with stooopid humour (much in the vein of the original), but ultimately dull. There are moments that give hope for the viewer, but those moments are few and far between.

As someone who has read the comics only in Finnish it almost always took me a moment to "get" the characters and locations. Is Marlinspike Moulinsart? Why, of course it is! Snowy is Milou, of course. Who the heck is Sakharine? For a moment I thought it'd be Calculus. Then I thought Calculus must the bloody pickpocketer. Sigh. Anyway: Forgettable movie, unremarkable, unnecessary, uninteresting.

Slightly undeady episode this entry. Hence, therefore: Unborn living, living dead.

Day Eighteen

Posted by jukkahoo

Williams Alcoholic Ginger Beer is another ginger-infused beer, but unlike Red Girl, this is really good. This is really proper Ginger Ale! Somewhat gingery nose, which opens in tasting very wide. Spices come after that, with hints of citrus and perhaps even chilli? Lovely beer!

Zoo City is the second novel by South-African author Lauren Beukes (ilmeisestikin äännetään about "Bjukus"). This is one of the best books I read this year, easily among the top-three. Loved the language, that uses the Jo'burgian vernacular and afrikaans language, and simply adored the idea of killers being burdened with familiars. In the case of our protagonist, Zinzi December, the creature is a sloth. Not the best of things to carry around, but clearly not the worst (imagine a whale, or a hippo, or a butterfly) one. Zinzi is a smalltime crook, she scams people with elaborate Nigerian emails, but she also has this fantastical ability to find lost things.

Zinzi doesn't want to get involved with missing persons cases, but when the going gets tough, she is forced to halp an old lady. Which in turn gets killed. And then the shit really hits the fan. Great, fast read. Fantasy mixed with familiar/unfamiliar setting that oozes life. Funny dialogue and moving moments. Do yourself a favour and read this one ASAP.

Super 8 (2011) is a film that Steven Spielberg could've made, but didn't, but instead did produce. It's a lovely little movie that appeals to all age groups who have warm memories of certain 80's related films, bits of music, gadgets and gizmo's (taking liberties with the actual dates these were introduced to the wilds of Ohio, I'm sure, but then again - aliens...). It's basically E.T. meets Stand by Me. Which is nice and good and really sweet.

Hertz - doesn't it?