Liviu's [Personal] Blog

Dom'le, ce vreme Amsterdameza avem in Bucuresti!

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 20 May 2012 12:25:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

As zice ca ieri (Sambata) in Bucuresti am avut parte de o vreme Amsterdameza tipica:

ploaie Amsterdameza: a plouat torential, s-a oprit, a plouat iar torential, iar s-a oprit etc. monoton, continuu, ca un robot
cer Amsterdamez: un gri-albastru-alb-palid whatever, nu conteaza culoarea exact... ci conteaza ca e uniform, compact, nu se vede nici un nor, nici o cuta/linie, nimic :)) indiferent de zona din cer pe care o privesti.

Ok, primavara e putin diferit dincolo: primavara, dupa ploaia Amsterdameza, la vreo juma' de ora distanta, se limpezeste cerul, se face albastru, si iese un soare de-ala sa-ti faca in ciuda ca Uite dom'le, ca e frumos!, iar dupa ce se satura soarele de stat, peste alta juma' de ora incepe o noua sesiune: te trezesti iar cu cer gri compact si ploaie torentiala, apoi iar cer limpede si soare smecher...

Se pare ca m-a marcat alternanta de primavara cu ploaie torentiala + soare, pentru ca tin minte cum prin primavara 2010 am experimentat 4 sesiuni complete de alternanta in vreo 6 ore cred (cam intre ora 13 si 19, or something). Olandezii au psihic tare, dom'le :))

Observ ca azi, Duminica, avem o zi similara celei de ieri, dar mai slab executata: a plouat mai putin, se pot observa si cativa nori pe cer etc. Slabut, dom'le...

Anyway, nu-mi fac probleme, am dobandit psihic tare. Poate sa ploua si o luna in continuu ca pana la urma tot iese soarele, c-asa-i in ~~fotbal~~ Bucuresti. Eh, dincolo pentru perioada de "toamna tarzie + iarna + primavara devreme" nu se aplica acest rationament :)) si atunci sa vezi ce fun e...

War Horse [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 06 May 2012 20:30:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

I can also watch story-based and sad-and-deep movies, you know - oh, they call it drama?

Like War Horse [official site; IMDB; en.wikipedia], you know. I'm not an action addict as you might think by my reviews... Hmm, I should have reviewed Ides of March a long time ago, but I did not, which is a shame, because you get a really good story there and a great George Clooney & Ryan Gosling... Anyway, War Horse I said, right?

Why?

Steven Spielberg [en.wikipedia; IMDB] directs it.
Got 6 Oscar nominations [Oscar.go.com; en.wikipedia; IMDB]

Story line?

It is that story obviously built to touch your feelings, to highlight the drama, tragedy... like European movies always try doing, but kind of fail every time :)... eh, Hollywood does not fail, you know :)
As a side note, another recent example of Hollywood earning my appreciation with this type of movie is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Sweet, cool, nice. Anyway...

You get delivered a situation developed on purpose to feel sad & deep & philosophic... and it is nicely developed, well played, all parts fit perfectly. The drama builds up on the way, seamlessly. Really nice, what can I say? It earned my appreciation, I must say it again.

I really enjoyed the funny parts, too. You quite often get either a funny line, or a funny moment because of the overall situation. They are subtle in their funniness, built for an educated public, if you ask me. This whole combination of drama and funny parts makes you dive deep in the story.

The movie's actual duration according to my watch is about 135 minutes. Well, it certainly feels a lot shorter. Really, I felt amazed when I looked at my watch in the end. Everything develops so smooth, that it keeps you connected and everything... and you just do not realize when time flies away.

Action?

The action supports the story line, emphasizing the tragedy, the drama, the... and yes, the action part does a really good job.

I suspect you're not expecting too much action, do you? I mean, you're thinking that it's a drama, so there's no room for action, since it's not an action movie, right?...

To be honest, there's quite a lot of action, well placed, nicely built... oh, it's Steven Spielberg, I forgot, sorry.

Conclusions

Congratulations, Mr. Spielberg! Well done!

I definitely recommend you to watch War Horse - great combination of everything: story line & drama, funny parts, action. Please watch it on the big screen (i.e. at cinema) because you just need to see all the details, to feel the atmosphere, everything...

(Nota bene: watching it on TV or on a computer screen would ruin the whole experience. You have been warned!)

Battleship [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:50:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

After watching Safe House [Liviu's blog] it was time for action-for-it's-own-sake, i.e. Battleship [official site; en.wikipedia; IMDB]

Action?

You betcha! :D Now, who do we know to be a fan of action? Hmm, let me think... Oh, I know: me, me, me!

To put it short, we get plenty of action, special effects and the like. Do we care that sometimes it doesn't make sense? Noooo....

Ok, the beginning is terribly boring, so is the 3-minutes final part... because they lack the action and try to build some sort of a story :)) Why would they try building a story, when it is obvious nobody goes to this kind of movie for the story? :))

Story line?

Look, it is not that kind of movie that you go watch for the story line, or for the acting etc. Really.

Ok, the story goes like this: Some bad ass invading aliens versus some good humans defending our little-shiny-lovely-blue planet. Humans kill all aliens and their 4 cool ships. End of story.
Yeah, sweet, great idea, congrats, whatever!
Now hit it with the special effects, please! :))

Plot holes [imdb.com via Mr. Andrei, PhD, thank you]? Well, yes, of course. So, ignore the story line, and just concentrate on the special effects.

The aliens are not bad, not in this situation at least, if you ask me...

Disclaimer: I've always said that when we meet aliens, we'll be like the indians and they'll be like Europeans, so we'll get killed. Good bye! - the movie says the same, which is the reason the humans start killing the aliens the moment they seem them. Ok, 1 minute later to be more precise.

As a side note, I am not that sure the aliens are that bad in the given scenario...
They do not provoke the humans in any way, nor make any hostile movements.
They just horn back (i.e. they reply) to the human ship. Their horn though as a side effect breaks the glass of the captain's deck cabin and kills the idiots (I mean senior officers) inside - so it happens that the hero's brother gets killed this way so the hero shall later lead the killing of all aliens. Anyway, the rest of idiots (I mean senior officers from other ships) interpret the aliens' reply horn as an aggression, start shooting all they have against the aliens, which legitimately defend themselves and sank a couple of human ships. Really, that's how all started.

In the meantime, the aliens also launch some cool wheel-like weapons [gawkerassets.com; eonline.com] to destroy a bit some city. Really cool weapons: they move around, analyze everything (buildings, bridges etc.), decide what objects seem important, find their weak points, and attack those weak points, leading to deadlock and/or destruction with respect to the targeted objects. Cool!

Getting back to the idiot humans, if you ask me, this "shoot first, ask questions later" policy shall for sure get the human species killed, even if the aliens come in peace...

Oh, and the aliens only want to dial back home because they have lost their communications ship. Obviously, humans put all their efforts into stopping them because they imagine the aliens shall call other ships to kick humans' ass. Now, given how the situation has evolved so far, wouldn't you?

So, I must confess that this time I felt pretty bad about being on the human side.

Nevertheless, the special effects are cool...

Actors?

Well, it's not that kind of a movie (in which actors show some great skill), you know... I mean, who cares what the actors do while you get so many special effects? As long as they look terrified and keep running around and shooting, they're ok with me :))

Liam Neeson - too little, too cocky.

Taylor Kitsch - hmm, ? Dunno, does not convince me. Anyway, he's our hero: he has been a loser for some time, but his brother enrolls him in the navy, which changes his life, reaches the stage of a senior officer etc. - he is second in command on his ship, therefore becomes captain of his ship when the real captain dies, and leads the battle against aliens.

Rihanna - first she acts like a teenager making jokes on everything, but then you realize it's a female, and then you realize she's a navy soldier, and then you think: wait, what? But it's ok, given the hero's messed up life before he enrolls in the navy. So, Rihanna's attitude fits in the scenario eventually.

Brooklyn Decker - sexy, that's all.

Army PR?

Plenty of it. There's so much army PR in the movie that at times you may think you're watching enroll-in-the-army-please advertisements.

Conclusions

Is it worth the time & money? For the action, yes!
Regarding the story, well you don't go watch it for the story...

Safe House [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:30:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

These days I have watched Safe House [official site; en.wikipedia; IMDB], therefore I plan to review it for you. (Ok, I have watched many other movies since the last review, but didn't take the time to review them for you. Shame on me!)

Action and/or thriller?

We get quite a lot of action, yes. I'd call it the "classic style" (as in "this is the way it happens in real life where all the laws of Physics apply") of action:

people running around,
people fighting & shooting at each other (i.e. combat scenes),
fast scenes, but not extremely fast etc.

, therefore we do not get:

cool special effects,
scenes shot from high above comprising the agitation of a city combined with the movie action etc. - It would have been interesting to get that type of images with respect to Jo'burg [en.wikipedia, 'cause you haven't heard this slang word before, have you?] - I mean, if they took the trouble to film it there, why not show how cool the city is? Also, some action scenes would have been more interesting if shot this way... but they might have felt less real though.

I suspect the thriller side of the movie kept the action to the real world level. In my opinion everything shown in the movie is perfectly possible in real life. It is all doable, especially in the case of a trained professional.

We do get a smart thriller, with a couple of twists, but not too many. You always sense the action & details & story are well thought of, thoroughly analyzed for consistence & coherence etc.

So, we get a smart thriller packed in a very real-life feeling of action.

Story line?

Espionage mixed with corruption & private interests, CIA etc. the usual.
However, we're lucky Ryan Reynolds is here to save the day! Also, Denzel is not such a bad guy after all, but not a good guy either...

Actors?

Denzel Washington - well, you know him, he does his job well.

Ryan Reynolds - pretty cool. He keeps getting better and better at acting. Does a fine part here.

Vera Farmiga - a nice/pretty (but not sexy) appearance from now and then. She gets shot towards the end, but you won't miss her.

Conclusions

Is it worth the time & money? Yes! Go see it, you'll enjoy it!

1. Schrodinger's cat is alive! 2. E.U. to borrow money from PIIGS countries, instead of lending!

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:10:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Schrodinger's cat [wikpedia] is alive!

Schrodinger finally remembered to look inside the steel chamber and found his cat alive and healthy!!! Unbelievable!

I was so busy during the last 77 years with listening to radio, watching TV, then [re]installing Windows yearly for about 23 years, then the Internet (IRC, sharing lolcat photos, checking mail at Yahoo! and Google, then using Facebook, Twitter etc.)... that I have completely forgot about my cat! The poor thing is well and alive, and hungry for milk :)) - Can you imagine the impact of lolcat photos with _my_ cat? It's gonna be huge, this cat is destined to be famous, I tell you :)), declared Mr. Schrodinger earlier this morning.

E.U. to borrow money from PIIGS countries, instead of lending!

European Union officials have come to the conclusion that the solution to saving the euro currency is simple, yet counterintuitive: instead of lending money to the PIIGS, they should borrow money from them.

Here goes the reasoning:

If EU lends them money, PIIGS get worse by the day, as we have already noticed
The lenders always are strong, while the borrowers are weak

Therefore, to change the situation, you simply need to reverse the roles: the borrowers must become lenders and vice-versa. There you go, crisis solved!

In the (Soviet) Western world, the clock updates you!

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Intro/Context

Yo must have heard by now those jokes built on the same pattern "In America... In Soviet Russia..." [Yakov Smirnoff: Russian reversal], e.g. "In America, you watch television. In Soviet Russia, television watches you!"

Heck, even Fredo & Pidjin [Fredo & Pidjin: site] had invented something on the same pattern: "In Soviet Russia bombs disarm you!" [Fredo & Pidjin: Bomb Raider comic]

My joke(s) on updating our clocks to Summer Time

So, here's how my joke on updating the clock to Summer Time / Daylight saving time [Wikipedia: DST] would sound if built on the same pattern:

In America/Europe, you update the clock.
In Soviet Russia, the clock updates you!

However, given that

all electronics (e.g. laptops) update by themselves and then (they may) notify us, and
the Western world unfortunately turns a bit socialist nowadays, anti-competitive and with a desire to minimize human freedom through Internet censorship (see SOPA/PIPA/ACTA)

, I've turned the joke bitter & funnier like this:

In the (Soviet) Western world, the clock updates you!

I find my latter joke both funnier and bitter because the first part indirectly talks about a potential loss of freedom, and the second part describes a behavior you would have normally expected in a "In Soviet Russia" joke.
Note: Indeed, you need to have heard quite a lot of "In Soviet Russia" jokes in order to taste this one.

Stand-up comedy @Cafe Deko: ?, Cosmin Nedelcu, Dan Badea [Review de stand-up comedy]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 22:21:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Am fost Sambata 17 Martie la Cafe Deko [site oficial] - locatia din Strada Smârdan 30 (Bucuresti, Centrul Istoric).

Am vazut un show de stand-up comedy, doh!, cu:

nu mai retin numele [am gasit o poza totusi - e tipul din centru, cel cu ceas rosu/roz whatever la mana]
Micutzu' - Cosmin Nedelcu [am gasit o poza]
Dan Badea [am gasit o poza]

Pe pagina cu programul [Program Cafe Deko] puteti gasi pozele a 5 oameni care apar la Deko.

Ma roade o intrebare:
Q: Oare fiecare din ei spune aceleasi poante (sau variatiuni) la fiecare show sau zice unele complet noi?
A: Nu stiu, habar n-am.
De ce zic asta? Well, eu (incerc sa) fac review la acest show si poantele pe care le-am auzit, si nu stiu daca trebuie sa generalizez sau nu... So, to keep it on the safe side, ma voi referi strict la acest show.

Paranteza: Deko e la mansarda, cladirea sta sa cada (kiddiiiing, noooot), dar am o veste buna: sunteti la ultimul etaj (i.e. etajul 2, i.e. mansarda), deci va veti prabusi peste toti cei de sub voi, va fi foarte putin moloz deasupra voastra, deci veti avea rani putine si echipele de salvare va vor scoate relativ usor. Besides, vor fi cei de sub voi (parter si etaj) la care vor vrea sa ajunga pentru a-i salva, deci va vor scoate super rapid de sub daramaturi... So relax, don't worry about the building. Hmm, si ignorati scara in spirala care pare cam subreda... si balustrada care se mai balangane... si faptul ca inainte de a intra se face o coada lunga si toata lumea sta pe acea scara si mai bate din picior... btw, stand asa veti observa ca scara e un pic inclinata inspre centrul spiralei... foarte tare, super design!
[Da, stiu ca v-ati prins ca inclinarea nu e de la designer...]

Durata spectacol

90 minute, cam asa.
Per total a fost funny, am ras. Au fost poante care mi-au placut, la fel cum au fost poante sau momente mai putin reusite. Nah, e ok.

Pret

25 ron/persoana, pentru show exclusiv.
Daca vreti sa consumati ceva, platiti, e.g. 9 ron per sticla Carlsberg de 330 ml.

Limbaj folosit

Un pic prea colorat, as zice.
In traducere: astia 3 injura cam mult, prea insista pe tenta sexuala si sexual-injurata a limbii romane contemporane. As zice ca au un limbaj prea ancorat in realitate.
Stiti cum sunt aproape toate filmele romanesti din ultimii 20 ani? Simt nevoia sa injure, sa bage acolo ceva cu tenta de sex si cateodata uita de substanta, de ce vor sa exprime...
Ok, filmele romanesti le consider o cauza pierduta, dar la stand-up comedy totul (sau aproape totul?) depinde de artist, de cum construieste el show-ul (texte/poante, gesturi, interactiunea cu publicul etc.), de aceea am pretentia (ce spectator pretentios, dom'le!) sa fie mai altfel, sa foloseasca un limbaj moderat, dunno.
Show-ul mi se pare clar targeted pe un public 18-35 ani, dpdv meu.

Glume pe care le-am retinut si merita auzite

Le voi trunchia, le voi modifica nitel sensul, trec rapid la poanta, ca sunteti smart enough sa construiti voi o gluma similara daca stiti care-i ideea/poata per total:

Despre vremea naspa din Bucuresti iarna: Omul normal se scoala dimineata si zice "Bah, ce nasol, trebuie sa deszapaesc masina, trebuie sa ies in frig, trebuie sa ma duc la serviciu, bah ce viata naspa!". In schimb, Bacovia, ca era pesimist, daca ar fi trait acum ar fi zis: "Wow, ce vreme super naspa, adu' caietul dictando si un pix nou ca am multe poezii de scris azi!".

Despre Centrul Istoric din Bucuresti: Voi ati vazut ca dupa ce s-a chinuit Primaria mult si a bagat bani multi, in sfarsit Centrul Istoric arata dupa cum e numele? Adica in sfarsit arata a istoric, nu a zona proaspat scapata de razboi/bombardament?

Disclaimer

Poate am fost prea dur in review, poate nu am inteles unele poante.
Poate vreau prea multe, dunno. Acum, stiu ca e relativ dificil sa compar intrucat am vazut ~~mult~~ destul stand-up pe YouTube, deci am un isotric pe creier la care sa fac apel cand compar. Intr-un fel, comparatia mea interna nu e dreapta, intrucat si the best au glume slabe, dar pe YouTube ies la suprafata doar pasajele super bune...

Concluzie

Show-ul (pe care l-am vazut) este funny. Am ras, au fost destule poante care mi-au placut, deci e ok. Consider ca a meritat.

Limbajul este prea colorat dpdv meu: ca barbat nu prea te deranjeaza, dar ca fata/femeie s-ar putea sa fie incomod pe alocuri si nu tocmai pe gustul tau.
Recomandarea mea: fix ce am vazut merge bine la o iesire cu baietii, in zona 18-35 ani, nefamilist. Veti rade, va veti simti bine, nothing to worry about the girls.

Probabil ati vazut ceva stand-up la viata voastra pe YouTube, deci stiti care sunt the best of the best with respect to artists and jokes... Tineti minte ca ati vazut deja the best, iar acum trebuie sa incercati/auziti si alte poante, sa experimentati etc. - nu incercati sa faceti o comparatie intre cele 2 tabere, sunt lucruri diferite. Similar, nu puteti compara filmul cu teatrul...

Reflectii (Decembrie 2011)

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:32:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

[Voi fi evaziv in exprimare. Voi incerca sa cuprind cat mai mult.]

Anul trecut pe vremea asta lucrurile stateau dificil. Eram in plin proces de transformare, reformare etc., dar macar era clara calea (desi distanta tindea spre limita la infinit).

De ce ajunsesem acolo cu cateva luni inainte? Well, as putea sa dau multe motive, pentru ca au fost mai multe fire de executie care au mers prost; si as avea dreptate, lumea ar intelege si mi-ar da dreptate; dar cu ce m-ar ajuta? Really, cu ce? De aceea, e treaba mea si doar a mea ce, cum, de ce etc.
Pana la urma problema a fost la mine: mi-am investit timpul in unele lucruri care pareau o idee buna, dar s-au dovedit o idee proasta; am prioritizat gresit; ok, am facut-o cu cele mai bune intentii, just that these things by their power combined threw me off tracks.
Si da, as face-o din nou. De ce? Pentru ca in primul rand mi-as fi pus eu intrebari despre mine daca as fi refuzat sa investesc timp in acele lucruri; pentru mine era important sa ofer cel-mai-bun-din-ce-aveam-de-oferit si e important ca am facut asta. You know what? Acele lucruri au evoluat super bine; pentru mine e important ca am pus niste chestii acolo, care au facut posibila acea evolutie; again, e important pentru mine, inseamna ca pot sa fac asta si ca se poate.
(Precizare: nu m-au interesat nicodata ack-uri si/sau thanks, functionez fara; pentru mine e important ca mi-am facut partea, desi propriile obiective au suferit pe termen scurt.)

Revenim: Acum mai bine de 1 an, cand sarisem de pe sine, cand realizam situatia dificila, puteam sa invoc toate acele motive si as fi putut renunta. O zic din nou: lumea ar fi inteles. Dar eu nu as fi inteles; stiu ca mi-as fi reprosat ca m-am oprit.

De ce am continuat?
Pentru ca eram pe drum; daca tot am pornit la drum, pai hai sa-l terminam, chiar daca se intrevede [al naibii de] dificil!
Pentru ca am avut oameni care au crezut in mine pana la capat and you just cannot let them down.
Pentru ca un esec ramane un esec indiferent cate motive ai, indiferent daca ai dreptate sau nu, indiferent daca lumea intelege sau nu. - Exemplu: daca Apolodor din Damasc nu i-ar fi putut construi lui Traian podul peste Dunare [103-105, invazia Daciei], ar fi contat de ce? "A, ca e prea lata si prea adanca Dunarea, ca arunca Dacii cu sagetute si ne ameninta de pe partea cealalta, ca nu avem materiale si/sau tehnologia necesara etc." - well, nu, nu ar fi contat; daca nu s-ar fi facut, nimeni nu ar mai fi retinut de ce si gata. You see, daca reusesti, s-ar putea sa ai pentru ce sa fii bucuros si poate lumea sa aprecieze / ack / spuna multumeasc (repet: "s-ar putea", i.e. nu inseamna neaparat ca totul va fi fenomenal dupa aceea); daca insa nu reusesti, nu conteaza de ce, end of story.

Cum se iese dintr-o situatie nasoala? Pai reteta e relativ simpla:
- Te intorci la tine si iti inventariezi prioritatile.
- Inovatie & creativitate & productie. Testezi idei, le slefuiesti, retestezi, reslefuiesti etc. Gandesti idei pana iti iese ceva. - Cand o spui, suna simplu, dar cand o faci efectiv iti iese par alb, injuri si transpiri la fiecare litera din prima fraza, pare ca nu merge etc.; dar merge, asa se face; si da, e greu.
- Taci si faci. (Am tacut aici 1 an de zile, corect?)
- Iti investesti timpul in lucrurile care conteaza, in oamenii de langa tine.
- Incredere in tine, scrasnesti din dinti, si mergi mai departe.
Per total toate astea se numesc normalitate, pentru ca asta ar trebui sa faci in mod normal. Dar cand ai neglijat anumite parti (sau le-ai facut prost) si te apuci sa le faci din nou (dar bine de data asta), eh atunci se cheama reforma :))
Evident, pot fi aplicate de la nivelul individului pana la nivelul statului, ca sa obtii eficienta, sa rezolvi problemele, sa iesi din faimoasa criza despre care tot prostu' scrie pe unde apuca, dar cam toata lumea uita sa zica partea cu inovatie & creativitate & productie; de ce uita? pentru ca e greu, nasol, iar oamenilor le plac lucrurile usoare.
Eh, o dovada evidenta ca a mers abordarea: Am ajuns sa ma culc intre 12 si 1 noaptea max. Whoa! Eh, este reforma or what? I mean, comparat cu vechiul program, pe care visam de ani buni sa-l schimb...

Si uite-asa, am reintrat pe panta ascendenta: inovatie si creativitate, productie si bunastare etc.

Anyway, in August 2011 m-am sustinut MSc Thesis [thesis; public archive]. Am avut chiar si cativa spectatori :) Putea sa fie spectator si marele Tanenbaum (omul lui a prezentat fix in slotul orar dinaintea mea, adica de la 11), dar T a plecat apoi... ok, whatever.
Revenind la MSc Thesis, mi-a placut cum a iesit: a iesit bine. Apoi, printat, a iesit ca o carte asa; sweet.
Again, pentru mine a fost si este important.
... si mai erau si alte lucruri importante, evident, adica exact acele lucruri care pareau o idee buna si in care investisem timp anterior. Dar cand totul crapa, te uiti la fiecare lucru, faci o analiza dura, intelegi realitatea: ce te ajuta, ce te blocheaza, cum & de ce, ce trebuie schimbat. Apoi mergi inainte. Da, e mai dificil in realitate decat in cuvinte.

Adolescentilor din generatia mea ne placea sa zicem life sucks. In sfarsit am un raspuns: No, life does not suck. We suck, we make it suck, just as well we can make it rock! It eventually is up to me, you and everyone else.

Anyway, good night and good luck! si Craciun Fericit! si La Multi Ani!

[Fara comentarii, din nou.]

Reflectii

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:26:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Sunt momente in viata cand (1) nu obtinem ce ne dorim sau (2) ajungem in acel punct in care mai e (foarte) mult pana departe, care devine echivalent cu limita spre infinit din a obtine ce vroiai... Cateodata obiectivele ne scapa...

Anyway, poate la anul va exista un Craciun Fericit...

No skiing this winter. What to celebrate?

[Fara comentarii.]

1 Decembrie 2010: Poze, Filme, Impresii @Ziua Nationala a Romaniei @Parada militara

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:12:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Dupa ce v-am anunat programul paradei militare de la Arcul de Triumf [Liviu: program parada militara] si intrarea in productie a zilei de 1 Decembrie [Liviu: La Multi Ani Romania!], a venit momentul sa share cateva impresii / concluzii / poze & filme de la parada militara de la Arcul de Triumf (Bucuresti).

Vremea: frig, mix de ploaie mocanesca cu burnita, gheata pe garduri si pe borduri (aici e relativ periculos intrucat nu-ti dai seama cand ajungi pe jos). Inghetai stand pe loc si cu mainile pe aparat.

Oamenii: multi, dom'le, multi, foarte tare ca au venit si au rezistat! Fix cum s-a terminat au eliberat zona rapid - ii inteleg ca mureau de frig.

Durata: cam 1 h, 11:10 - 12:10, cam asa.

Filtru anti-tero: Da, inainte de a ajunge la Arcul de Triumf, dinspre Charles de Gaulle, erau pe ambele trotuare filtre anti-tero: jandarmii fluidizau/buffereau oamenii, iar altii in civil ne semi-perchezitionau. Ca profesionisti, n-a fost o problema sa trecem cu:

explozibil lichid sub forma de apa intr-o sticla de 0.5 L, umpluta pe jumate - altii aveau termos de 2 L cu cafea si au discutat putin la filtru, ce amatori! :))
detonatoare electronice inserate in aparatele foto
tevi auxiliare sub forma de umbrele si trepied

Evident ca glumesc, ca daca le aveam in realitate ne prindeau :D Dar nu le-am avut, deci am trecut.

Defilarea de la Arcul de Triumf (Bucuresti):

Am avut o defilare super tare, multe chestii. Ok, nah, exista armate mult mai bine dotate, dar si noi am scos ceva-ceva in fata. Am pastrat pozele care ne avantajeaza la maxim :D

Albumul meu de poze, partea publica pe net [Liviu: Picasa: Parada Militara, 1 Decembrie]; iata cateva poze:

From 2010-12-01 - Ziua Nationala a Romaniei: Parada Militara @Arcul de Triumf (Bucuresti)

Filmele mele publice pe net [Liviu: YouTube channel]

Ce a lipsit: Elicopetere si Avioane.

In programul extins apareau [Antena 3], dar nu ne-a survolat nimeni. Why? Vroiam sa vad/aud survolul: C27 J SPARTAN, 2 x IAR-99 ŞOIM, C-130 Hercules si elicopterul IAR PUMA NAVAL. Oh well, maybe next time!

Hmm, la chestiile oficiale nu cred ca se aplica jurisdictia Autoritatii Nationale pentru Protectia Consumatorilor :)) [ANPC: site oficial]

Se pare ca n-au zburat din cauza vremii [Antena 3], i.e. conditii meteo nefavorabile. Eh, pe dracu, de parca in razboi zburam numai pe cer senin :)) Genial!

Informatii suplimentare:

Ministerul Apararii Nationale

site oficial: mapn.ro
canal Youtube

Inregistrarea oficiala, aproape integrala a paradei [Mediafax]

La Multi Ani, Romania! / Happy Birthday, Romania! (National Day of Romania, December 1st)

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 22:01:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Happy Birthday, Romania!
Indeed, today, December 1st, is the National Day of Romania.

Note: Both the 2008 [post on Liviu's blog] and 2009 [post on Liviu's blog] articles might help you find out more about Romania.

Programul se gaseste in postul anterior [Liviu: Programul manifestarilor / evenimente @Ziua Nationala, 1 Decembrie 2010]

Update: Am fost la parada miliara. Pentru poze & filme & impresii, cititi postul dedicat [Liviu: 1 Decembrie 2010: Poze, Filme, Impresii @Ziua Nationala a Romaniei @Parada militara]

1 Decembrie 2010: Programul manifestarilor / Evenimente @Ziua Nationala a Romaniei

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:48:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Ca orice roman care ar vrea sa asiste la parada militara (i.e. defilare) si/sau alte evenimente cu ocazia Zilei Nationale de 1 Decembrie, mi-am pus problema/intrebarea:

Care este programul evenimentelor si/sau manifestarilor si/sau paradei militare (i.e. defilarii) de 1 Decembrie 2010?

Programul pentru Bucuresti

Yupi, a aparut comunicatul oficial al MApN [MApN: comunicat de presa]. Finally!
Presa RO a inceput sa dea detalii despre program: Antena 3, rol.ro

Programul pentru parada militara de la Arcul de Triumf (Bucuresti):

Incepe la ora 11
Participa: MApN, MAI, SRI, SPP
Presupun ca va fi traseu sigur pe Bulevardul Kiseleff: Piata Presei Libere (ex Piata Scanteii pentru nostalgici) - Arcul de Triumf - Piata Victoriei => Sfat: Eu as ateriza la Arcul de Triumf si de acolo mi-as cauta un loc bun de poze etc. - Ar fi interesant de stiut pe unde se vor intoarce: Bd. Aviatorilor sau tot Kiseleff?
Restrictii rutiere de Ziua Nationala la Arcul de Triumf si devierea unor trasee RATB [Politia Rutiera; Antena 3]

Alte ceremonii militare in Bucuresti:

Depuneri de coroane şi jerbe de flori la:

Monumentul închinat Eroilor militari români căzuţi la datorie, amplasat în faţa Palatului Naţional al Copiilor din Parcul Tineretului - ora 8.00
Mormântul Ostaşului Necunoscut din Parcul Carol I - ora 9.00

Începând cu ora 17.00, militari din Regimentul 30 Gardă Mihai Viteazul se vor retrage cu torţe pe itinerariul Palatul Cercului Militar Naţional - B-dul. Regina Elisabeta - Piaţa Operei - Pod Cotroceni - B-dul. Geniului - B-dul. Vasile Milea - B-dul. Timişoara => cu torte, cool, pare tare! Mi se pare putin ciudat ca nu o iau pe Bd. Eroilor Sanitari ca sa ii dea onorul si Presedintelui in fata Palatului Cotroceni! Practic, ocolesc Palatul Cotroceni luand-o pe traseul Piaţa Operei - Pod Cotroceni - B-dul. Geniului - B-dul. Vasile Milea => Posibil sa opreasca la intrarea de pe Bd. Geniului, unde era fosta Gara Cotroceni?

View Bucharest, by Liviu in a larger map

Alte articole utile la Bucuresti, cu alte programe:

Primaria Sector 2 [EvZ.ro]

Programul pentru alte orase

Alba Iulia [alba4all.ro; ziarulunirea.ro; romeonet.ro]
Arad [vestic.ro]
Campia Turzii [stirimatinale.ro]
Cluj [evenimenteincluj.wordpress.com]
Mioveni [ziartop.ro]
Sighet [sighet-online.ro]

Stay tuned - daca ma duc, revin cu poze si/sau filmulete, ca la AeroNautic Show [Liviu: post] :D

Update: Am fost. Pentru poze & filme & impresii, cititi postul dedicat [Liviu: 1 Decembrie 2010: Poze, Filme, Impresii @Ziua Nationala a Romaniei @Parada militara]

ToneMatrix & Pulsate: having fun with playing/creating music

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:45:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

After having read the latest DogHouse comic [link] I clicked on the link they recommended and landed on the ToneMatrix page [link] which was so much fun :)

Ways I played with ToneMatrix - the naming is mine :)

Slow play - just click on some squares to turn them white or black again; turn white as many as you want.
I turned white the whole board eventually but it was no fun; my ears seem to enjoy up to 1/3 of the board being roughly randomly white; from then on, not too much fun.
Fast play - keep whatever-you-use in the clicked position on one black box and then move it all around the board, since this will turn white all black boxes in your way; super cool! Do the same while starting from a white box and you'll turn black again all white boxes in your way; super cool again!

Enjoy!

On the main page [link] I also found Pulsate [link] which is cool, too! Enjoy!

Legenda Marelui Inchizitor [Review de Teatru]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 19:33:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Dupa Iubiri Interzise [Liviu: review] am vazut Legenda Marelui Inchizitor [TNB: descrierea oficiala; TimeOut: review; LiterNet: review].

Despre ce? Cum e?

Piesa e de fapt un mare monolog despre libertatea de a alege - cum Biserica le-a luat oamenilor libertatea pentru ca oamenilor sa le fie mai usor (libertatea ii sufoca, nu o intelegeau / vroiau): aici practic Inchizitorul (Rebengiuc) apara / "explica cu nerv" pozitia Bisericii (pentru vremea aceea Biserica reprezinta simultan puterea politica) in fata lui Iisus (re)venit pe Pamant in Sevilia.

Nah, tema asa poate fi indelung discutata. Practic pornind de la ideea aceasta, se poate extinde spre orice tip de libertate, se ajunge la libertate la modul general, cam asta e ideea in care a fost construit monologul.

Fata de piesa Japoneza Iubiri Interzise [Liviu: review], aici inteleg pasiunea cu care Inchizitorul isi sustine obiectivul/cauza, asta dupa ce deducem cum anterior le-a impus in fata oamenilor (? prosti, creduli, fara vointa).

Rebengiuc?

Ca actor mi se pare bun, doar ca pana acum nu l-am vazut in nimic care sa rezonenze cu mine. I don't know, il inteleg, dar nu ma atinge somehow.

Se merita piesa?

Da, se merita. Monologul poate fi o experienta noua si oarecum ciudata, cum a fost pentru mine care sunt obisnuit sa se mai intample cate ceva pe scena :))

Filozfia din spate?

Partea nasoala e ca avem o filozofie veche, crunt depasita pentru ziele noastre, intrucat

articuleaza problema astfel incat sa excluda orice solutie si
considera oamenii prosti, incapabili sa decida pentru ei insisi, i.e. sa evolueze.

Hey, in esenta aceleasi motive pentru care consider o tampenie:

literatura romana cam toata indiferent de timp,
filozofia universala in mare parte pana in momentul in care li s-a apris beculetul desteptilor ca exista fexibilitate / negociere / proactivitate / dorinta de a rezolva problemele astfel incat sa cream valoare si sa renuntam la "zero sum game" etc.

Parerea mea despre libertate - intr-o zi voi scrie, poate; ultimul paragraf este suficient momentan.

R.E.D. (Retired and Extremely Dangerous) [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 19:05:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

After an almost funny animation [Liviu: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole], it was time for a hit. Yes, R.E.D. (Retired and Extremely Dangerous) [official site; IMDB; en.wikipedia; CineMagia (in Romanian)]

Do the actors playing retired characters play retiredly?

Let's see who we've got here from real life: grandpas Willis + Malkovich + Freeman and grandma Mirren. Well, no, they don't act retiredly. They're quite fresh and ready to act in a funny & engaging movie. Only the sexy-no-name-Parker [IMDB: Mary-Louise Parker] looks kind of retired although still young at 46.

See what the financial crisis is doing? They still cast old actors in movies :)) Ok, that was a nasty joke since they still act well.
Side note: I feel sorry for Michael Douglas's Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps [Liviu: review], but it was kind of bad - he's old. Now, he should be retired :p

Action? Explosions? Funny jokes?

Yes. I laughed and enjoyed it.

The story?

Funny, entertaining, engaging.

Is HM Queen Elizabeth II in the movie? No :)) [IMDB: The Queen] ... or maybe She's undercover... hmm, hard to tell with that true accent... :)) Well, the explanation is rather simple: Ms. Mirren speaks the Queen's English (as the English call it), which we all non-natives have been taught at school, not the American-English that everybody else speaks.

Should I go watch it?

Yes, it is fun. You shall enjoy it.

Conclusions

R.E.D. (Retired and Extremely Dangerous) - funny, entertaining, engaging, quite a lot of action. Worth watching.

Iubiri interzise [Review de teatru]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 19:48:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Dupa ce am vazut King of Thorn [Liviu: animation review], am simtit ca parca-parca imi scapa diverse sensuri ale culturii Japoneze. Asa ca domnul Andrei [site oficial] a zis hai la TNB [TNB: site oficial] la o creatie (i.e. piesa de teatru) Japoneza numita Iubiri interzise [TNB: descriere piesa].

Uuuu, titlu european 100% :D Romanesc, titlul ar fi fost perfect cam asa: Iubiri interzise si esuate / triste / pesimiste / in deriva [1] / sinucigase si fara actiune

Tema centrala: Fericirea - ce este, cum o atingi etc.

Actiune: nu prea exista. Ok, stiu ca teatrul nu are actiune multa, dar dupa ce veti vedea aceasta piesa veti intelege ca exista niveluri de non-actiune si mai jos decat ce ati vazut pana acum. Ok, ceva-ceva se intampla...

Mod de exprimare: Epic fara actiune si cu comunicare lirica intre personaje
Explicatie: Epic (pentru ca avem personaje) dar mai mult liric, dar liric fara monologuri, pentru ca personajele totusi comunica.
Cateodata am avut senzatia ca latra la luna ca stil de exprimare.

Piesa are 2 parti independente, ambele despre fericire:

Partea 1: Pictorita (?oarecum gay) frustrata pe viata si care nu a primit nimic niciodata si deci nu are ce sa astepte, o rascumpara pe gheisa care innebunise pentru ca se indragostise de un client si facusera schimb de evantaie ca sa se recunoasca cand se vor revedea; intre timp gheisa si pictorita se mutasera in alt oras, iar acum gheisa astepta in fiecare zi in gara sa apara tipul coborand din tren purtand evantaiul - de la asta porneste un intreg dialog-monolog-liric-epic despre fericire intre ea si pictorita. Intrucat apare un articol in ziar despre ea ca e nebuna, apare tipul acasa, dar ea il respinge, partial pentru ca e nebuna si il respinge by default (ea se indrgostise de o iluzie sau ceva mai poetic presupun) si partial pentru ca isi aduce contributia pictorita pentru care fericirea era ca fosta gheisa sa fie nefericita...

Logica? Dramatism?... mmm, well, hmm...

Partea 2: Sora mai mare devine gheisa ca sa-si intretina fratele (care e si el mare) si care era indragostit/cuplat cu una; fratele si partenera pierd noptile si banii (gheisa le da toti banii mereu) prin oras / baruri etc., se poarta mizerabil cu sora-gheisa, care inghite tot si e numai lapte si miere cu ei etc. In final, fratele vinde casa, isi omoara sora, partenera bea niste arsenic si pleaca sa moara unde el n-o va gasi, iar el ramane pe scaun...

Aici fratele e Marius Manole, care joaca foarte tare. Am ras bine. Mai are si niste scene mai fierbinti cu partenera, pe la inceput pana pe la mijloc.

Despre Japonezi versus Europeni si Romani

Ca parere personala, bre neamule, io nu-i inteleg pe Japonezii astia. Really. Nu ca m-as lauda cu prostiile clasice de tip european, e.g. Romeo si Julieta [2], sau alea si-mai-proaste romanesti, e.g. Ion [2], dar pe Japonezi chiar nu-i inteleg. Am fost, am vazut, am comentat, habar n-am mai mult.

Credeam ca autorii nostri din manualul de liceu sunt niste cretini & plangaciosi & care nu sunt in stare sa gaseasca nici o solutie, nimic... Am gresit, imi pare rau, se poate plange / dramatiza si mai rau...

Vreti sa faceti bani? Traduceti tampenia [3] de Miorita in Japoneza... You will get so rich!!!

Deci merita sa ma duc la piesa sau nu?

Da, duceti-va, e educativa piesa intr-un fel, dar asigurati-va ca deja aveti un sistem de valori si de obiective bine inradacinat, ca sa puteti avea relaxarea de a critica la sange, ca mine acum. Partea 2 e fun, chiar e fun.

Poate am fost prea dur, dar nu am avut scopul sa o desfiintez, ci doar sa exprim in stil dur si fara menajamente ce cred despre stilul de exprimare din piesa.

Enjoy!

[1] Imi place expresia asta in deriva - HBO a gasit titlul perfect pentru primul serial pe care-l vor produce in Romania [Marcel Iures: stirea pe site]. Nu stiati? Well, aflati acum!

[2] Bine c-a murit Romeo, sa se-nvete minte. Bine c-a murit si Ion, sa se-nvete minte si el! In toate romanele / nuvelele cu prosti de acest tip ma bucur cand moare prostul, macar atata satisfactie sa am si eu pentru ca autorul mi-a bagat pe gat o prostie pesimista cu masculi incapabili sa gaseasca solutii.

[3] Poate sunt prea dur, dar Miorita chiar e o tampenie care transforma tinerii cu initiativa in niste oameni maturi incapabili sa gaseasca solutii, ci doar sa se planga. Cineva a gresit rau cand a dat ok-ul sa apara in manual.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole [Movie review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 19:24:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

After having experienced the cruel reality of life in The American [Liviu: The American (review)], it was time to dream again. Ok, let's pick an animal, hmm, what about owls? In Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole [official site; IMDB; en.wikipedia; CineMagia (in Romanian)]? Yes, almost a good choice. In 3D? Yes.

The story?

Definitely too straightforward. The bad owls

Build a weapon of mass destruction [1] using some crystals or something collected from I-forgot-what (could be what owls throw up at times and then ended up eaten by mice... anyway, it's irrelevant)
Kidnap baby owls to either train them as soldiers for their army or brainwash them in order to work in collecting those crystals
Follow a Nazi-Fascist line of thought / philosophy
They live in a mountainous region, just like the Taliban in Afghanistan or insurgents in Iraq. Of course, it's a coincidence, isn't it? :)

Obviously, once the good-owl Soren and (his future mate maybe?) Gylfie escape from their kidnappers, they reach the Guardians, tell everything and the good-owls-Guardians decide to start the war on terror [1] to free the enslaved owls and establish peace once more.

Good owls win, bad owls loose, while the adult viewer gets bored.

So, it's about some... owls?... in 3D? What's the animation like?

Yes, somewhat & sometimes & to some extent

funny
sweet & cute
daring
courageous

owls. But not all the time.

In 3D, yes. They got some nice 3D effects. However, the animation does not raise to the Pixar & DreamWorks standards - sorry, Warner Bros but you are in the small league when it comes to animations for the big screen.

Problems:

Why did not the owls make their specific sounds? They speak plain English all the time :)) Only when it comes to fighting, they scream like eagles :)) Wtf?
Why did not the owls turn their heads to 90-180 degrees like they usually do? Only Digger quickly does it a couple of times and that's it.

Btw, regarding the starting animation based on the Coyote and Road Runner series [en.wikipedia on the series] - if Warner Bros actually thinks that's funny... Well, I'm starting to hate the financial crisis and the low quality it brings! Ok, I had a couple of good laughs, but it was so predictable and just good, but nothing great about it...

Can children watch it? Will they enjoy it?

I'm not sure to what degree it may suit children: too much useless violence, too little attitude & courage & determination. Children might enjoy it; I, as an adult, did not quite enjoy it for example.

Conclusions

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole - a good animation, but not great. Warner Bros has yet to learn a lot until they can make great animations. As an adult, I got kind of bored - it felt the movie lacked a clear objective besides the good owls shall win in the war (on terror :p) against the bad owls.

[1] Describing it using the War in Iraq terms may sound funny, but these terms fully apply in this animation.

The American [Movie review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 10:31:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Following all that Aim'est, there was an urgent need to get back to the reality of real life dramas, sourness & bitterness etc. What to pick? How about The American [IMDB; cinemagia; en.wikipedia]?

Is it a George Clooney classic?

I say yes - it's about life: Sour + Bitter + sometimes Sweet. I've always had that feeling in what I call George Clooney classics, e.g. Good Night and Good Luck [IMDB], Syriana [IMDB], Michael Clayton [IMDB], Burn After Reading [IMDB]. Note: although I haven't watched Up in the Air [IMDB] I suspect it falls in the same category, given the synopsis and trailer.

Do you know Clooney's voice? You know, that voice of Clooney that seems serious, but says in-between words I'm gonna trick you sooner or later or at least do it my way not yours. Besides the titles above, his voice sends the same message in Fantastic Mr. Fox [review: Liviu] or Ocean's 11-12-13 series... Well, here it seems only sad but still we get the I'm gonna do it my way not yours.

The story?

You know, it's that type of story that when leaving the theater you feel both relaxed and rather tired at the same time.

Cool things Clooney does during the movie:

gathering stuff for the weapon, assembling the parts, testing it
putting in a sad & stressed face all the time
charming the 3 female (2 for sure, 1 just during the picnic after testing the weapon) characters with his sad face
shooting the bad guys and killing them quick and smart, nothing hero & fancy-like
dying at the end

I'm not telling you the story, not even giving any other little spoilers! Should you want to know, then watch it. Or find another source of info on the net.

Bonus: Clooney charms and/or interacts with 3 beautiful women: Irina Björklund [google image search], Thekla Reuten [google image search] and Violante Placido [google image search]. He's good!

Does it feel sad? Does it get close to an European-like movie?

Indeed, overall the movie seems sort of sad.

Yes, it is kind of European-like: Clooney gets close to that style (with the sadness and sex/nudity scenes), but he does not cross the limit - very smart of him, 'cause otherwise he would have received a bad review from me-the-almighty-irrelevant-critic that I am :D...

However, I must emphasize that you need to have the taste for such movies, since otherwise you might just think of it as a bad, boring & sad movie. It's really smart and profound actually, but you need to understand it.

... any good laughs?

Oh yes, of course. Many very good laughs. Beware they're very subtle, very different from the Hollywood style of producing laughter, i.e. they're subtly hidden - again, you must have the taste for such things... I totally enjoyed these subtle funny & ironic moments.

Clooney for Oscar?

Nominee? Well, yes, certainly. He does a great part.

Winner? I'd like that, yes. He's very good here.
Probably the committee would point out that this is clearly the type of parts he does very well (e.g. in Syriana and Michael Clayton it's roughly the same sadness coming out), therefore they might hesitate to award him - hey, they may want from an actor to have had several various great parts (and I don't think they count the Ocean's 11-12-13 series or his voice in Fantastic Mr. Fox) in order to award him/her, so I can't blame them if they refuse him the privilege of winning.

Conclusions

The American - a George Clooney classic, on the sourness & bitterness & sweetness of life; worth watching, indeed.

So, yes, see you at the next Clooney-classic!

Brandul turistic al Romaniei - idei paralele

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:28:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Daca cei din Ministerul Turismului (e.g. doamna Udrea in acest moment) raman fara idei de promovare scumpa si ineficienta a Romaniei, ar putea sa ia in considerare idei paralele. De exemplu...

Super tare tipul asta Bear Grylls [en.wikipedia] (mda, a fost putin prin Fortele Speciale Britanice, asa intr-o scurta plimbare [en.wikipedia], ca un fel de doctorat scurt de 3 ani :D), care acum face emisiunea Man vs. Wild:

Pasiune
Facut din suflet
Explorator adevarat
Mananca de toate:

bucati comestibile din caca de urs,
melci adevarati (ce pregatire in stil frantuzesc, bre! direct de la sursa, suculent! :D),
peste viu (ce sushi!) - foarte tare cum pecuieste cu mainile goale sub pietre!

Lectii de supravieturie
Super imagini cu ursul de aproape

Trebuie sa fii destul de nebun sa filmezi cu el [echipa de la Discovery] - isi iau masuri de precautie oamenii :D Tipul e tare [emisiunea descrisa pe wikipedia], desi se pare ca planifica (i.e. regizeaza) unele momente cam mult.

Filmele = cele 6 parti ale aventurii in Romania:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYtd_XWdGFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkROQKHQV3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP_ccNK-P_w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rcmUwomL8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLyQeibE-4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGmVcjn9tYA

What TO DO:

Le putem da unor oameni pasionati ca acesta ustensile (elicopter, permis de decolare/aterizare/survol etc.) si eventual bani (nah, asta-i jobul) ca sa ne cutreiere tara si sa scoata super filme ca acesta! Ei vor fi multumiti pentru ca vaneaza adrenalina, noi ne facem brand! Sounds like good marketing to me! Apoi adunam toate filmele intr-un loc, le facem publice si gata, avem super video-uri de promovare free facute super tare de cei pasionati de asta! Go [professional] crowd sourcing!

Intr-adevar, au mai trecut si cei de la Top Gear pe Transfagarasan demult [Vimeo] - da, le-a placut. Cand exploatam emisiunea lor? Am citit destule nemultumiri la momentul respectiv ca Ministerul Turismului a scapat printre degete sansa aia...

King of Thorn [Movie (animation) review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 10:20:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

As part of my desire to watch some animations at... Anim'est [official site] (doh, of course!), I've chosen this time King of Thorn [official site - English version; IMDB quoting the start of a review and the rest at TwitchFilm.net; details on the comic on en.wikipedia] - it seemed interesting, I don't know. Besides, I don't know anything about Japanese comics & movies, so I decided to give it a shot. Don't worry if my reasoning doesn't make sense - it's my fault :)

All in all, how's this movie/animation compared to Pixar/Dreamworks etc.?

Indeed, it's different, because it's the Japanese culture there. I liked the story, but not so much some parts of the characters' behavior. An interesting experience overall. If it only had the fine details in the Hollywood style... that would have been awesome!

The story? Medusa virus?

Story: complicated, yet coherent. The story develops in a catchy & intriguing manner. Everything makes sense in the end. I enjoyed it.

Medusa virus - great idea: the virus (which turns people into rocks eventually) gives one the ability to turn whatever they imagine into material/live things which interact with everything (people, the environment etc.). Well, there are some catches here:

Nobody knows that the virus actually enables the materialization (i.e. into live things) of one's imagination.
Everyone affected by it seems to be having psychological problems, i.e. some traumas collected at some point in their lives.
One does not realize they're affected by the virus.
Not even the one imagining stuff realizes it's them imagining it.
The imagined stuff is usually harmful or very disturbing & disruptive for everyone else.

I've got the spoiler at the end of the post, in case you're interested...

Is it smart as TwitchFilm.net claims it is? Are the ideas in it worth thinking about?

Yes, it's smart. It caught me until the end, when all made sense.

The idea that the Medusa virus had been here all throughout the history and enabled evolution...

Male characters? European-American-like...

Funny, but we have the:

English originally-undercover-commando-military-trained cool & helpful guy
Black American & family-type ex-policeman
Old & having-committed-bribery-to-reach-into-the-cryogenic-project Italian male politician
The strong & powerful & in-charge-of-the-cryogenic-project Russian ex-Ministry-of-Internal-Affairs-something now working in the private sector
Northern looking like (could be European or American/Canadian) & blond scientist/researcher guy
The kid could be anything. Forget him.

So, all the main male characters (except the kid) are European-American-like... Funny thing.

Female characters?

They're all Japanese I believe. The blond nice-looking female might not be. I don't know.

What are the differences that the Japanese style brings into this animation?

Well, that's the really bad part of this animation and I feel sorry that the Japanese have this wierd way of expressing themselves:

It's all talked in Japanese which I find uncomfortable, i.e. stressing for my ears
Voices sound like children voices
When characters shout they sound & look so childish - maybe it's the language or the Japanese behavior... either way, it's so annoying & stressing! And they shout every 5-10 minutes! :)) What? They have bad nerves or communication problems in that country?
Drawing young females in the Japanese style is kind of weird: they have long legs, short skirts (which sometimes the wind moves a bit), long socks (i.e. up to the knee), which leaves no space for the ass - Do Japanese young females have an ass? Really, it's a serious question! It seems like a fetish of theirs to me of not having one. Hey, I like the ass, it's very nice, it's a sign of fertility, ok? It should be drawn proportionally with the rest of the body! There should be a rule for that in Japan!
They have this passion for showing blood from now and then, i.e. every time one of the characters dies.

King of Thorn (if it were a real movie, not an animation) vs. Inception [IMDB]?

Given that it had:

been done as a real movie (therefore not an animation)
been provided the same cast & post production & special effects etc.

, King of Thorn (as a real movie, not an animation) could have kicked the ass of Inception if it only had:

been spoken in English
had the fine details processed as in the Hollywood style (you know all that glamour & Di Caprio's way of chewing words [1] etc.), targeted for an American-European audience (the Japanese style looks/sounds/feels weird - even the please-do-not-illegally-tape-record-this-movie ad before the movie is weird)

Are you kidding me? No, that's the truth. The story & storytelling would feel better than Inception's given the same Hollywood-style packing [2].

Conclusions

King of Thorn - I enjoyed it, although the Japanese culture repeatedly kicked in destroying the mood and annoyed me at times. Wait until the end. If you didn't get it, read my spoiler. I do not find it suitable for children.

[1] Credits for Di Caprio talks in Inception as if he's chewing words go to Andrei [site]

[2] Indeed, Hollywood has mastered to perfection the ability to nicely pack all elements in a movie.

Spoiler - do not read this

One of the twin girls kills by accident the other one when standing on the cliff before entering the castle, which leads to her trauma. Her remorse [m-w] determine the bad things that happen all around them; everything stops when she acknowledges what her subconscious has tried to hide. How long are they all asleep? 48 hours only; then hell breaks loose. She and the kid live, everyone else dies.

Metropia [Movie (animation) review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 20:16:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Anim'est [official site] again, of course. I've chosen to watch the apparently creepy Metropia [official site; IMDB; cinemagia in Romanian; google search].

Dark images, shades of gray...?

Well, I'm kind of bad at naming colors, but it seems there are mostly shades of gray whatever, everything's very dark etc. - well, it goes perfect with the tone of the movie, i.e. the pessimistic & sad world [story] that the movie envisions etc. We do get some colors from now and then, but rarely.

I'm gonna be nasty about this: since it's a cooperation Sweden + Denmark + Norway + Finland, maybe the dark images make sense after all - in many parts of Scandinavia / Northern countries [en.wikipedia] they get little light (therefore a lot of dark)
=> Examples of worst day lengths:

Stockholm: November, December (the day lasts only 6 h), January
Copenhagen: December, January
Oslo: November, December (a bit under 6 hours), January
Helsinki: November, December (again, a bit under 6 hours), January

... now think those are the day lengths computed as the difference between sunrise and sunset, therefore that does not mean sunlight :) Now count in the clouds and/or rain due to the proximity of the ocean all around... (OK-OK, they call them seas: Baltic Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Barents Sea - I see them as the ocean, since they're not clearly trapped.)

The story? What's with the voices inside the guy's head? What about the woman in the trailer? The conspiracy? Does he win?

The story stops somewhat halfway between complicated and straightforward; it develops nicely and coherent; ok, maybe it's 60% complicated and 40% straightforward, I don't know.

We do get (doh!) an European-pessimistic approach/style overall. Could it have been otherwise?! :))

At times, the atmosphere feels like in 1984 [IMDB] or Equilibrium [IMDB], i.e. some overwhelming tension all around in the air pressing on everything & everyone although one has no clear idea where it comes from.

Spoiler: Indeed, the sexy woman (Nina) manipulates the normal-dumb-Roger-guy and everyone else so to get her father killed. Why? Well, he was the main stockholder of Trexx, i.e. the company running Europe's underground web of transportation. Also, Trexx developed the technology for manipulating people by speaking in their heads (I'm not telling you how the shampoo worked :p). So, she can inherit all now: the transportation web, and the shampoo technology-for-speaking-into-people's-heads since Roger only blew up the Scandinavian floor of the manipulation headquarters, but they did not destroy the shampoo factory when she has shown it to him.

So, we get kind of half of a happy end, which I consider a huge breakthrough given the European pleasure for breaking/crushing destinies in movies etc. I still am surprised they didn't eventually crush Roger... - do they plan on making a sequel? :D

Overall, a fresh approach I'd say; I find it encouraging to see Europeans pull off an animation like this. It's not Pixar or Dreamworks, of course, but it works. It could have made it into mainstream, people might have liked it.

Definitely an animation for adults - it doesn't have anything to entertain children.
I joked on it, yes, but the subject is serious.

Conclusions

Metropia - good story, indeed, but the European-pessimistic approach/style prevails (which I say it's bad). It would have been fair for Metropia to make it into mainstream - some adults would have enjoyed it; children couldn't and wouldn't have understood it.

Fantastic Mr. Fox [Movie (animation) review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 21:03:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

OK, so Anim'est [official site] has continued, therefore I've chosen to watch the funny & entertaining Fantastic Mr. Fox [official site; IMDB; cinemagia in Romanian; google search].

Voices?

Wow, cool people & good voices [cast]. No wonder the voices sound so good. George Clooney as Mr. Fox and Meryl Streep as Mrs. Fox sound really good, they fit together perfectly.

... but the movie doesn't look like the classic animations/cartoons we've seen until now at cinema, does it?

No, it doesn't. They say it is stop-motion [en.wikipedia] - all in all, it is not that continuous flow that I am used to. If it were that Pixar- or Dreamworks-style of animation... wow, it would have rocked! Or... even better: Monsters Inc [IMDB] style of detailed (heavy rendering) animation... However, it looks very good, it feels very good, but still I prefer the continuous flow of everything instead of this stop-motion thing.

The story?

The story develops in a smart manner over time: quite a lot of catchy twists and turns, combined with lots of action. One doesn't get bored that's for sure!

...but Mr. Fox lacks responsibility as a parent. OK, he might save the situation (and he does it really well) many times, but the situation they have ended up in the first place is due to his desire for the danger of stealing chickens & ducks & cider from the 3 bad farmers [1] - ok, ok, he's a fox so he needs to steal chickens & ducks et. al. cause we're wild animals. I think Roald Dahl [en.wikipedia] wrote Fantastic Mr Fox [book] with the purpose of teaching children: That's what happens when parents are irresponsible - their family gets hurt... So grow up into a good parent, young man!

It's nice how all the other animals jump in to support Mr Fox, i.e. try to help him get out of the trouble he got himself into.

In the end, Mr Fox doesn't solve the situation - just that they're stealing from the 3 bad farmers' supermarket far away doesn't mean they're safe. They kind of just postponed their sentence. In the long term, that will just get the farmers more annoyed and more determined on catching them.

Conclusions

Fantastic Mr. Fox - great story, catchy twists and turns, lots of action. However, please note that Mr Fox is actually an irresponsible parent and due his actions he puts his family at risk.

[1] If he had done this to teach the bad farmers a lesson, then it might have had a point. However, the only reason behind Mr Fox's the triple strike is just proving himself as a great thief fox - he wants to be fantastic, that's what he says. He just wants to outsmart the bad farmers.
If from the beginning he had lead a crusade against the 3 bad farmers with the help of the rest of the animals... well, that would have been completely different. But he did not. He just put his family at risk for the sake of his ego.

Despicable Me [Movie (animation) review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:29:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Finally, I got to see the much talked about animation Despicable Me [official site; IMDB; cinemagia in Romanian; google search]. Good thing this Anim'est [official site] festival we get around here in Bucharest these days!

Is the despicable guy really despicable? Does the despicable guy make kids and/or other people feel bad and other bad stuff? Most importantly, is he a funny bad guy (even when bad things happen to him)?

Yes, he's funny. Not that despicable. He's got a good soul - sorry to spoil the surprise ;)

There are other more despicable characters in the movie: the female administrator of the orphan girls' house and the chairman of Evil Bank. Beware of those!

... shall my child cry during the movie?

Oh, no. Sorry. :)) A-ha-ha, that was so funny of me! Right?

Seriously now: they won't cry, of course. However, they may feel bad at times, I think - I do not know how they take some pieces of humor, since it's kind of dark/selfish/crude a couple of times - you just cannot offer a child a toy horse made out of balloons with the purpose of blowing it up right after you give it to him - for me it may be funny, but not for a kid.

Therefore, although the movie talks about (converging the bad buy to) kindness, I wouldn't quite take my child(ren) see it [1], nor recommend it to parents.

What about the story? Is the animation funny? (It certainly seems so in the trailers.)

Kind of light; too straightforward. I did not hold my breath at any time - felt the story lighter than in Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore [official site; IMDB].

I had several very good laughs throughout the movie:

The army of yellow robots, i.e. the minions, is so damn funny all the time
Gru's dog - I wish they have really rendered his fur
When Gru enters the evil bank, there's a sign saying Bank of Evil (formerly Lehman Brothers) :)) which was so funny. Come on, don't you know the Lehman bankruptcy story due to the subprime crisis? [en.wikipedia] Now this is the kind of joke that Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps [blog post: review] should have presented in order to make it a great movie!
Victor self-called Vector - funny at times. (The character had much potential though, which they have wasted.)

Yes, it is a funny movie, worth watching. They could have built a better story, that's all.

... so the bad guy turns good?

Yes, he does. Maybe I'm too old, therefore I have predicted the guy shall turn good, but I've had this weird feeling he was eager to turn good. At no point I took into consideration that he may remain a bad guy after all. It was too obvious he would become good.

Conclusions

Despicable Me - light story; a funny movie overall, worth watching. However, it may prove inappropriate for children at times. Also, they could have built a better story.

[1] I do not have children, therefore this dilemma is already solved. Phew!

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 20:51:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

First, let me say that I've totally enjoyed the original Wall Street (1987) [IMDB]

Michael Douglas was [young and] doing his usual act: strong, powerful, decided, in control, manipulating people etc. - the name: Gordon Gekko, come on, sounds so cool!
Charlie Sheen? Oh, well, the young & confused guy, willing to reach the top, but getting burned on the way :)
I remember the young broker (played by Sheen) tried to take down the almighty old one (Gecko, played by Douglas) but I don't remember exactly how it ended, though...

Ok, now let's get to the sad & boring Wall Street 2 (2010), i.e. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps [official site; IMDB; en.wikipedia]

General feeling / spirit of the movie?

Everyone's sad (and crying from time to time) and sorry for the failures from their past and on the edge of nervous crackdown due to the current financial crisis.

I'm not sure whether this is a movie about life & love & sadness, therefore a drama, or about money & control etc.

Bonus: Shia makes some puppy eyes from time to time, which might get females like the movie better than males.

Michael Douglas? [IMDB]

Yes, he's there, but kind of... old. All his persuasiveness & vigor are gone.

Shia LaBeouf? [IMDB]

Apparently, people have heard of him. Well, I haven't. Sorry. He should have played in movies that have interested me at those times :p
He seems to cry well & make good puppy eyes, just like Jude Law, Enrique Iglesias etc.

The story? Power & Control & Strength?

None. Sorry.
One might say that Gekko is manipulating Jake so he can eventually grab the 100 M$ he had put in an account (in Switzerland, of course, how creative!) on behalf of his daughter before he went to jail. Ok, I could buy that, but... really that's the whole plot... for an 133-136 minutes movie?

Where are the expected twists and turns?
Where's the game over power & control?
Where are the brilliant quotes which I should not be able to get out of my head?

Quotes?

I don't know. I must have missed them. Both IMDB [IMDB quotes] and Google [search] found some, but they're not what you're expecting, are they?

... yet they were so close of making it a remarkable movie

Towards the end, at the meeting between the big-guys-in-finance vs. the Treasury guy, when:

They suggested that Bretton and the whole bunch of investment banks actually bought (or sold?) sub-prime loans with the sole purpose of investing so much money into those that the whole crash became inevitable and, since the government couldn't afford the entire economy to crash, then the government would have been forced to bail out the big banks... which would result in profits for the big banks => This is brilliant! Haven't heard this hypothesis so far!
The big guys said to the Treasury guy: Scare the Congress!

It was there - they could have shouted liars and conspirators to the whole of Wall Street, but they did not. They either freaked out or deliberately missed the moment.

Best part of the movie: Michael Douglas vs. Charlie Sheen

2-3 minutes with those 2 arguing (maybe talking is a better term) face-to-face at some charity reception. Could have got quite intense (should the producers have had a better script writer), but did not - it was fun though, I liked it.

A good crisis is a terrible thing to waste [Google Search]

Have you heard this quote before? I liked it from the first moment I've heard it, long time ago. It's by Paul Romer [Stanford]. Now, that's a great quote if you ask me!

Unfortunately, the movie wastes the huge potential of the crisis; they kind of fail in anchoring it in the sad financial reality we live in... Therefore, they waste the crisis, kind of like the Obama administration on building a better (i.e. more efficient) U.S.

Conclusions

Wall Street (1987) - great movie.

Wall Street (2010): Money Never Sleeps - sad & boring. If you're looking for a good excuse to start crying and not make it obvious by looking at some [by default sad] love movie, then go watch it.
Indeed, they could have done much better. They had a great crisis to build on top of, but they wasted it. Shame on them! :)) If I were them I'd hurry up making the 3rd movie exploiting the benefits of the financial crisis we're in...

Resident Evil: Afterlife [Movie Review]

noreply@blogger.com (Liviu) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:52:00 +0000

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

I watched and enjoyed the promised & delivered action of Resident Evil: Afterlife [official site; IMDB; en.wikipedia; CineMagia]

What?

The sexy Milla Jovovich (they could have cut her hair a bit longer, couldn't they?) fighting an army of zombies and a bad guy (i.e. the leader of Umbrella Corp.), all powered by some cool special effects.

The story?

What story?! No story, no metaphors. Action!
Nota bene: I've only previously watched the first movie of the series [IMDB] when it was released, so I have no clue whether there have been inserted some (cool & subtle) back references in this one. Sorry.

Action?

Yes. Promised and delivered.

Actors?

Mmm... ok... there's Alice, I mean Milla, sometimes in multiple instances at the same time, i.e. during the first 10 minutes.

Then Claire (real name: Ali Larter; aha, ok, good to know) [IMDB] - nice; sort of Milla (I mean Alice) with longer hair and younger.

There's also that Wentworth Miller [IMDB] Prison Break [IMDB] guy - you know him: face of a puppy, very short hair, a bit confused, yet concentrated on following a jumping ball. Guess what? He spends his first 10-15 minutes of the movie being locked in a cell. Ha ha. Besides, a great part of the action happens in a prison - oh well, he must be familiar with those by now :)) Ha ha, that's their idea of a joke I guess. Well, I laughed. Ha ha.

All in all, as long as everybody's shooting (or performing some equivalent action) I don't care much about their acting. Do you?

Conclusions

Resident Evil: Afterlife = Milla Jovovich et. al. + action + special effects
There you go: light story, heavy action.