The Last of the Mohicans (1992).

If there's one movie you can watch over and over again it The Last of the Mohicans. It's Daniel-Day Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, great soundtrack, fine adventure story, there's love of course, charismatic antagonist Wes Studi (Magua), and a fine british soldier Major Duncan Heyward by Steven Waddington...

It never impressed me the first time I watched it. Perhaps I was too much into present day cinematography, and I never really got it in Mohicans. But it nevertheless left me with great aftertaste. A simple, but delicious meal could do that... So I watched it once again, and again, and again... I realized that Michael Mann style is something to enjoy years after. Just as I would watch Heat from time to time, I do re-watch Mohicans...

It's the way he does it. The drama is all in the James Fenimore Cooper's story, but it's also Mann's approach and style that makes it so great. It may seem slow-paced, while in fact so much is happening that you may find it hard to follow as the story's drama twists and turns before you can realize it all in full. That's why there's so much to think about once you're done watching...

Oh yeah, and the soundtrack is more than fulfilling. The moment you feel the drama of each person and take their sides, the music rightfully underlines each moment and death and tragedy of the characters. Magua is no bad. His kids were slaughtered, and can you really blame him for taking revenge on his foe? Colonel Munro is sympathetic, but can you really side with him once you learn that he was in charge of a conflict where Magua's kids were killed? Major Heyward seems a prick ready to hang Hawkeye for mutiny, yet saves him and Cora giving himself up to the tribes execution by fire...

Cora's younger sister seems a bit stupid by jumping off of a cliff, yet the horror she saw within such a short time explains it all. And the way they fight that seems a bit too fast... Well they fight to the death, does it have to be long as in Transformers? There's so much aggravation and grief in every fighting scene that you can't help yourself saying: Perhaps that's ehat it is like... A horrified father Chingachgook who sees his only son dying has all the power to slaughter Magua and win over... He is the Last of the Mohicans...

If you haven't seen it do it. Michael Mann at his best. It's the movie that has everything we love about him. Directing, acting, cinematography, love story, true drama, story and characters that are just as complex as life is. There's no real bad or evil, no real good or perfect, there's just people, there's just life. Motivations are complex, behavior is unpredictable,and you are never sure if you won or lost...

RoboCop (1987)

Just re-watched this movie. It's a fascinating one! Enjoyed it a lot! Although the movie's screenplay and plot will not withstand any logical review, it's still great. In fact the screenplay has so many loopholes and ridiculous turnarounds, it has a great cast!

Every single actor and actress is amazing! Just because of them the movie looks like a drama, a good drama. Not sure what a remake will look like, but the old one is worth watching. Even though it was made 25 years ago it still is a good watch!

Moreena Baccarin.

Moreena is probably the most underestimated star of the "Homeland" series... Of all the stars she actually has the hardest role of all... Lewis' character is quite obvious by the end of the first season, just as Carrey's. as for her (Moreena) it's bot so obvious for her... It's more complicated, tangled... She's got more ahead... So just you wait for her character to reveal herself. Can you imagine she played that prostitute (companion) on amazing Firefly? Well she's got more drama potential than you could have imagined...

She's not just pretty, but she's also talented to portray what's awaiting her on the way as "Homeland" progresses... The drama is all in here eyes.. Stick to "Homeland" for more...

TDKR.

Amazing. It's so good... Nolan's the master! I'll review it a bit later... Most likely gotta see it one more time...

Episodes (two seasons!)

Just got my hands on the second season of Episodes! Can't wait to see it. The first one was just marvelous! The Larger-Than-Life-Joey-Tribiani-Le-Blanc was just Fantastic! So, I've just decided to write something about it, since I'm watching it. By the way I still owe you a review for Iron Lady... Coming up soon. Anyway, if you haven't seen Episodes you gotta try it. It's a rare comedy show that has a unique "brittish" touch to it. You don't see shows like that often... It's a gem.

Shame (2011).

It's hard to define "Shame" in few sentences... Typing the word "resume" and then trying to fit all the emotions in a couple of sentences is a torture. You cannot possibly try and explain "Shame", a movie that tries to explore many human flaws within themselves and outside them. Flaws that define you everyday life, and in your communication, in ways they shield you or you choose them as protection... See... that alone leaves me confused... McQueen's artistic touch to every shot is so carefully planned, so carefully thought of, so beautifully staged, that you may ultimately stay puzzled. "Shame" is one of those movies that make keep you guessing, leave you impressed (or disgusted - you never know people), and it's exactly one of those movies that'll keep your head busy. You'll be drinking coffee, or tea, smoking a cigarette, or lock yourself out, or (if you've got something against sex, and human inability to control urges - we're talking about flaws right?) you'll forget about that movie right away... That's not an easy topic to talk about, and it's even harder to film that kind of a movie...

Steve McQueen has flirted with erotic topics before. One of his first short movies with himself in it (as described by many) keeps viewers guessing about homoerotic relations between two men (Bear 1993). I haven't seen it, but after watching a powerful "Shame" I read about him. I may only guess (of course after watching "Shame" and after reading about him, and his works) that McQueen as an artist and director is a deeply empathetic person, who's fairly deeply interested in human desires, weaknesses, and hypocrisy concerning sex. I'm not to judge or take sides, for it's really not worth it. For it's really one of those movies that is very personal and it's up to you to decide. That specific vulgar topic for some, or beautiful for others is out now, so deal with it, and deal with yourselves. And yet, that movie is not only about sexual addiction, or inability to feel and share your warmth with anyone else, even your sister. "Shame" is about, in my humble ipinion, is how you live and interact with the outer world. It could be about your Ability to feel. Your Ability to share. Your Ability to care. It's about certain amount of responsibility. And perhaps many more... as much as you can see farther. And perhaps I couldn't see that far. Yet I feel moved. I feel shaken. I may not really understand other existential ideas, other layers to characters and their relationships... but I feel moved. 

A scene in a bar with Carrey Mulligan (Sissy - David's Sister) singing "New York, New York" bedazzles me. I literally can't take my eyes of her. A long shot, with Carrey's face looking and singing directly at you, feels like magic. I feel moved. Opening scenes and Fassbender's (David himself) absolutely emotionless face. I feel moved. Fassbender's smile on a date unsettles me. I see a man who's not used to smiling at all. I see a man who's trying hard to be just like everyone else. A scene in a restaurant where David  takes Marianne (Nicole Beharie) for a date seems very regular, but it's unnerving because you know more about David than anyone else, and certainly more than Marianne. That's why you see an increasingly insecure man who really wants to be just like everyone else. He, who really knows his flaws, and once caught by his sister Sissy masturbating in a bathroom, decides to change for the better. And I may use our dear Dr. Houses's expression: "People don't change." It seems that most of the time, the most troubled of us, fully, or in many ways, see our own insecurities, and may even understand reasons behind it, and try, try, to get out of it. Give it up, and just once be fine or regular. Just like David, he who purely depends on physical, really tries to open his soul. But that's beyond what he can. After trying a notch, he dives deep into the ocean of his true self. He can't change. He's afraid. It's too much for him.

Sissy is too much for him. He loves her so much, that he'd rather give her up and forget her, rather than live with her and see her trying to kill herself, once again. She's just too much for him, and her emotions, her inability to control and her overall dependence upon anyone she meets, or has sex with. Sissy is right there, in his room, crying for help, crying for understanding, she knows that she'll do it again, over and over. She'll cut herself and she truly believes that her older brother may take care of her. Must take care of her. In some way for David she's a disaster. She's a hurricane that makes him think he can give it all up with a single push. He once believes that if he simply wants it, he'll do it. He'll give it up. As said above - he can't. David locked himself up in his comfort zone, and he can't take care of her (which can be seen in one of the last scene in the movie). He can take care of himself only because he locked himself up in physical emotionless sex. Sissy wants to open him up and she needs to be cared about, yet she doesn't realize how vulnerable her brother is once he opens up.

From beginning to end it's an exploration of human soul. McQueen's cinematography, directing, and writing is great. Once I finished it, I felt like he really knows what he's doing. Not only in terms of the artistic touch to every scene, but also in terms of the essence of the movie. He seemed very clear about that. "Shame" has it's drama, a real life drama. It's got what makes a great picture that's been painted for a long time by a painter. Every detail is worked hard upon. Nothing is left unnoticed. Everything is perfectly balanced. Fassbender and Mulligan, soundtrack and cinematography, dialogues and behaviour. 

I suggest you watch it. It may really not matter that the movie is about sex, or it may really matter that it's about sex. What may matter to you, is that you may want to spend a few extra minutes alone to think over. Think about your own self and what keeps you going. Although we're in effect all quite selfish, I think there's no harm in spending just a few more minutes in the company of you.

A few words about Fassbender and Mulligan. Fassbender is so humble and powerful. He'll keep your heart pumping and your mind swirling around. Just watch the movie and see how he acts as David. You'll see David's sad artificial smile, he despair, his love, his rage, his insecurity, and perhaps even many more... It's not that you'll definitely see it, but in many scenes you'll feel it. Carrey Mulligan is great, especially in that single scene where she sings. It seems that every scene she acted here is important and she was equally as great as Fassbender. It's rare that just two actors can make a great movie (there are of course exceptions), and it's rare to make a movie with just two of them. McQueen was resourcefull in making that work. The three of them (Fassbender, Mulligan, and McQueen) made even silence speak, and in half the movie it was more important than dialogue.

Script is great. Cinematography is great. Directing is great. Acting is great. Watch it. Spend some time exploring your inner self. Even if Dr. House thinks people don't change, you may have a better understaning of yourself or people around you. (But don't just think it's all about sex)  :)

Spread the Word! (of mouth...)

I've just watched a 13-minute feature about DKR (click to check it out).It looks fantastic! Looks like we're really about to enjoy something epic... Well, at least that's how it looks to me. Since I'm a die-hard fan it looks like I'm the one who's supposed to create buzz around it. (and many more people like me...). Still, I'm doing it. We should really enjoy it. The only pity thing is it's coming out here on July 26, instead of July 20 as it does in US.

The other thing I just watched is a trailer for Alex Cross. It also looks good, well at least for a change we're going to see Matthew Fox in a complete change of character and amplua. He's going to be that sick maniac we love in movies like this. At least from the trailer we get it... As for Tyler Perry, - I haven't seen him in his "Mrs. Madea" movies, well at least that a good change for him too. Lots of changes, new twists for those characters, pure joy. Happy for Matthew, for it's good for him to avoid typecasts and cliches... Doesn't he look sick to you? (click again :) )

Update. By the way, I haven't read the book on which it's based, but I hope it will be much more intriguing, with fine plot twists and turns. The director is known for Fast and Furious, and XXX, that are... let's say nothing but action movies you can really watch just once, and then forget about it. (Fast and Furious is only saved by Vin Diesel, who's charismatic enough to make that movie watchable...)

"Реальные пацаны"... Досмотрел третий сезон, и ни капли не пожалел...

Ребята, я временами просто хохотал до упаду. Все мои самые худшие опасение полностью не оправдались и я несомненно этому рад. Возможная проблема, о которой я писал ранее, о той самой "ситуационности" не сбылась. Скажем так, ситуации, запутанность и все проблемы в которые попадали наши герои были, но были сыграны, разыграны, и прописаны просто замечательно. Во втором сезоне, была некоторая усталость от любовного треугольника Валя-Эдик-Маша, но потом это все искупилось резкой сменой поведения того же Эдика. Эдик сам конечно тоже несколько раздражал своими "слюнями-соплями" и я рад что потом Эдик все-таки решил отомстить Вале тем, что захотел завоевать ее и бросить.... Смотрелось конечно забавно.

В третьем сезоне чувствовалось, что те же персонажи Валя-Эдик-Маша были лишними... Ведь вроде как все пошло в сторону "Иваныча" и развития его сюжетной линии, и они смотрелись как бы сказать мягче "не в тему". Но и тут же они быстро сориентировались и немного отошли от этого любовного треугольника и с блеском закончили линию противоборства "пермского края" против "московского мажора". В третьем сезоне прям несколько серий можно назвать прямо самыми лучшими из всего... Например, 20 серия третьего сезона, когда ребята проснулись после пьянки в духе "мальчишника в вегасе" и "чувак, где моя тачка?". Блестящая серия с Анной Семенович и шиншиловой шубой. Надо сказать, что Семенович приятно удивила своей игрой. Здорово сыграла саму себя. Серия с братьями Запашными, тигром, и лесом шикарна! Тот же Ознобихин как всегда здорово сыграл во многих сериях.

В целом можно сказать, что во втором и третьем сезоне явно видно что ребята вдохновлялись западными сюжетными линиями и фильмами. Но здесь нет глупой "копирки", здесь больше идет именно, как это говорит один из моих любимых критиков Алекс Экслер, заимствование, цитирование. И сделано это все очень здорово!

Лера к сожалению отошла на второй план, возможно ввиду своей беременности. Очень жаль конечно, что и Армен и Мама Коляна отошли на второй план. Может быть им надо было отдать больше времени, вместо любовного треугольника Валя-Эдик-Маша. Хотя конечно в какой-то мере кажется, что им важно было закончить как-то этот любовный треугольник, чтобы совсем уж натянуто все не смотрелось. Колян как всегда блещет. Вован и Антоха не потеряли самих себя и были в своем самом лучшем исполнении. Опять же в третьем сезоне линия Базанов-Иванчук не была самой лучшей, но и здесь чувствуется стиль создателей и сценаристов: надо поставить и в этих отношениях точку. И сделали они это довольно-таки неплохо.

Цитировать их речь и диалоги возможно не имеет никакого смысла, так как лучше всего это смотреть!!! Я хочу заметить, что судя по всему действительно сериал не всем нравится, по разным причинам: от сленга до формата псевдо-журналистики. И тем не менее те хохмы, которыми напичкан сериал, просто искрят от начала до конца. Я все-таки буду и дальше его рекомендовать, и буду ждать 4 сезона. Возможно 4 сезон уже идет по ТНТ, надо изучить этот вопрос. На российском телевизионном рынке - (я скромно считаю) это один из лучших комедийных сериалов.

(Сажусь на "Универ: Новая Общага", полгода назад посмотрел несколько серий первого сезона, было смешно. А мне очень нужен юмор, в жизни хватает стресса, надо как-то его снимать...)

P.S. Забыл отметить также отца Коляна. Прекрасная роль. Пока канючили с любовным треугольником, Наумов старший зажигал, и заметно разбавил "старых" персонажей своими выходками... (включая тот факт, что ушел в монастырь...)

Iron Lady (2011) and Shame (2011).

Two very fine movies I watched this weekend. "Iron Lady" is a very fine film with magnificent performances by Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent. In fact, it's hard to say that they are performing. Both Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent are living their characters, they are in fact The Iron Lady and her husband... They make the movie much more than the story re-told by Phyllida Lloyd. There are certain weaknesses that I'd like to discuss in my review, but it's even hard to call them weaknesses as it might seem to many... It's just that Phyllida Llloyd took a different approach to a biopic, and her focus wasn't politics... It's something different... It looks like a tragedy of a lonely woman, rather than a story of a Die-Hard politician who shook up not only Brittain, but also the whole world...

As for the "Shame" that's something really special. It's a powerful artistic piece that is far mor thought-provoking, and requires a better discussion. Certainly I know that there's been a lot of that long before me, say in 2011? :) Nevertheless... I assume that if you really want to be reminded of and appreciate your "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short" life you gotta watch it. Although "Shame" explores a completely different topic, it provokes the same emotions when I watch "Children of Men." Steve McQueen doesn't seem to insist on anything, but rather explore certain qualities, emotions, and his main characters tell us how powerful can a simple smile be. McQueens style is fantastic! Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan are extremely engaging! The scene where Mulligan sings "New York, New York" is so dazzling that you can't take your eyes of her and of screen... Long-shots in movies are rare, but must be used carefully. Not many directors do it, and/or have the ability to attach you to a screen for that long... In "Shame" Carey Mulligan  will take your breath away with her singing...

Both directors manage to control their premise, and their ideas. One of them is the idea of what really matters in life. Yet, both movies are different, and there's no way I'm trying to compare them. It's just that both seem to come across your emotions, devotions, and a destructive force of loneliness...

I'll start with an "Iron Lady" which I see as a tragedy of a lonely old woman (it somehow feels less about a politician, more about a woman), and afterwards I'll talk about "Shame" that tries in an artistic form to explore human beings (you really gotta smile more, because after watching that movie you may as well sing "Help!" by The Beatles). If I rephrase that classic song I may say that you may really need somebody to help you, before you're left alone...

Epic (2012). Animation.

I just saw a trailer for "Epic." It's an animation in 3D (of course, why not?) and it's created by the creators of RIO and ICE AGE . And I must say that it's probably the most impressive trailer I've seen in a while... That trailer did it for me, it's a hook. Most likely it's because of a soundtrack that really defines it. In fact as you watch it it looks like a fine drama or action movie. Here's the usual: can't wait to see it in 2013... I really gotta wait that long...

If you haven't seen it, you gotta see it. Here's where...

www.EpicTheMovie.com
www.imdb.com

Pretty impressive visuals. Really impressive. As for the story, as you watch you get that's there's some actions against something quite evil, it's a forest... but also you get that the approach they took is some girl becomes just as little as the main characters (forest army? bug people? something like that...) and the story is being told through her character I guess. Nevertheless, have a look. You'll like the song.

Oh, yeah, the voices, the actors... IMDB shows they've got Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Beyonce Knowles, Coling Farrell (now that's just great! he's really a great actor!), Johnny Knoxville, Judah Friedlander (guess who he will be?), and Steven Tyler. That's impressive too... :)

Update. It's based on a children's book "The Leaf Man and the Great Good Bugs" by William Joyce. Don't know that, haven't read that. Will wait for the release.

Update 2. Just read from wiki: the film is described as a "battle deep in the forest between the forces of good and evil." Well, I'm still going to watch it. As said, the forces of good will always win over evil, and slaughter them all evil bastards without mercy. Here's another one: "I'm the kindest person in the whole world, and if there's someone kinder than me, I'll find him, kill him, and again become the kindest person in the whole world."

Update 3. To be released in May 2013.

Сериал "Реальные Пацаны". Рецензия на первый сезон.

Давайте поговорим о "Реальных Пацанах". Вообще команда телеканала ТНТ молодцы. У них очень много успешных проектов, которые они запускают и они блестяще "проигрываются" на их канале, и находят, ну просто, скажем так, сумасшедший успех. Что и говорить о таких проектах как "Комеди Клаб", "Наша Раша", "Интерны", "Универ", "Универ: Новая Общага", и др.? Люди задействованные в этих проектах просто становятся безумно известными звездами, и звездами нового поколения. Казалось звезд делают большие киностудии, как это было в былые времена, но ситуация меняется кардинально, так как телевидение - это само по себе Сила. Вполне себе мощный двигатель и созидатель, так сказать, звезд. И это не только на российском рынке, в первую очередь конечно происходит и происходило на западных телевизионных рынках. Ну и скорее всего пример-то они берут именно оттуда. Это я говорю как просто зритель и наблюдатель.

Допустим актер среднего плана Брайан Кренстон, который всегда играл в эпизодических ролях (и даже как мне кажется больше всех других сериальных аектров сыграл в культовом, даже если не легендарном, сериале Сайнфелд) взлетел на звездный Олимп именно благодаря сериалу. И сериал этот "Во Все Тяжкие". Бенедикт Камбербатч, который также всегда был на вторых ролях, и преимущественно играл в театре, стал супер-известным благодаря новой интерпретации Шерлока Холмса. Кифер Сазерленд, сын хорошо известного Дональда Сазерленда, так сказать прозябал в Голливуде, и карьера его не была такой уж успешной. Т.е. он в принципе сыграл во множестве фильмов, играл всяких мерзавцев, в хороших фильмах, но вот все как-то там, позади всех, в тени и своего отца, и других звезд. И вот, его пригласили в сериал "24 часа" и никто уже не вспоминал его другие роли, так как персонаж Джека Бауэра закрепился за ним надолго, и он смог сыграть в 8 сезонах этого сериала. А это ни много ни мало 8 лет стабильной, хорошо оплачиваемой работы. Ну и плюс ко всему этому широкая известность и любовь публики, какому актеру на понравится подобное? И таких примеров достаточно много, не стоит перечислять все, но думаю вам стало понятно о чем я.

Ну так о чем это я? О "Реальных пацанах" же конечно. И о проектах ТНТ. Так вот, сериал "Реальные Пацаны" действительно классный сериал, он очень "реальный", душевный, очень эмоциональный, персонажи просто блеск, они также добродушны, реалистичны, наивны, и искренни. ТНТ давно перешли за "западный вариант работы по созданию сериалов". Они просто заказывают у продюсеров и продюсерской компании сериалы, пилоты, проекты. Это правильный вариант ведения бизнеса, когда можно отказаться от плохого проекта на ранней стадии, и имея несколько проектов быть уверенным что несколько обязательно "выстрелят". Насколько я слышал, ТНТ при содействии с какой-то продюсерской компанией, которая производит сериалы по заказу, уже пытались запустить что-то на подобии "реальных пацанов", но это было, как мне сказали, полной чушью. А вот вторая попытка, при сотрудничестве с продюсерской компанией "ГудСториМедиа", удалась, и удалась она на все сто!

Тем не менее, не всем нравится подобный стиль, и рассказ о жизни "чоткого пацана" из Перьми, диалоги, разговоры, сленг. Не у всех сериал пошел хорошо с первого сезона, тем временем у меня он пошел сразу, с первой же серии. И конечно же, потенциальный подводный камень для "Реальных Пацанов" сам формат сериала - ситуационная комедия. В этом прелесть сериала, но в этом же и в долгосрочной перспективе его проблема. Я посмотрел только первый сезон, и не могу дождаться когда сегодня сяду за второй, но хочется верить, что на втором и на третьем они не "сдуются" (пока вроде три сезона снято). А для этого есть несколько примеров показывающие почему сериал подобного рода может не продержаться долго. Все эти рассуждения чуть ниже, после того, как я немного опишу сериал, его сюжет.

***
Сюжет.

Николай Наумов, молодой парень, 1986 года рождения, гопник по социальному окружению. Парень без образования, разве что только со школьным образованием, из малообеспеченной семьи, живет в не самом лучшем районе города. Колян, как его зовут друзья, (да и в принципе всех Николаев у нас зовут Колян, гопник ты, или нет) - ворует. Жить как-то надо. Деньги добывать надо. Не все же время у Мамы просить. И вот как-то его повязала милиция, за то что он, украл-"отработал" 13 люков во дворе. В своем же дворе. Ему светит два года условно, а может и не условно. На его удачу в тот же день в милицию приезжает бригада с телевизионного канала (насколько мы понимаем ТНТ) и предлагают следующую сделку: его не сажают в тюрьму, но он участвует в проекте "Реальные пацаны", где он должен исправиться и встать на путь истинный. Обдумав их предложение, причем очень быстро, Колян соглашается. И вот тут начинают трудовые будни Нового Коляна, так сказать нового человека, который родился в старом Коляне. И здесь нас ждет его старая любовь, новая любовь, старые друзья, новые друзья, новая жизнь, настоящая работа, попытка изменить себя, свое окружение и прочее. И нас ждет реальное "реалити ТВ" о жизни простого пермского пацана.

***
Размышления.

Сериал очень популярен насколько я понимаю и вижу это в интернет сообществе. Тем не менее информации как о самих актерах, так и о сериале очень мало. И официальные источники на сайте ТНТ также скудны. Из всех персонажей на сайте только семь человек, а ведь там побольше их, да и совестно как-то упускать того или иного персонажа. Поэтому давайте поговорим обо всех самых, самых ярких из них. Ведь они настоящий клад всего проекта, и они одушевляют этот "реалити ТВ" от начала и до конца.

Вокруг чего все это крутится? Конечно это все крутится вокруг Коляна, и его места проживания. А живет он вместе с Мамой Мариной Наумовой которая работает в столовой, у которой есть свой друг жизни для души и тела Армен, который торгует обувью на рынке.

У Коляна есть два друга детства - Вован и Антоха. Оба работают в автомастерской у Михалыча, который в первом сезоне так и не появляется ни разу. Работа много денег им не приносит, вот они и стараются время от времени подшабашить там или здесь, при этом они регулярно вляпываются во множество проблем, и их вытаскивает истинный друг Колян. Ну конечно же, когда Колян во что-то вляпывается, они также вытаскивают его, так как пермские пацаны друзей не бросают.

Подружка Коляна - Маша, у которой в свою очередь есть подруга Валя, которая душой и телом переживает за Машу. Маша в принципе вроде как любит Коляна и даже ожидает что когда-то выйдет за него замуж. Маша проста, незамысловата, как сама по себе, так и в обращении с ней. Порой достаточно пригласить ее в чебуречную, чтобы загладить свою вину. Валя ее подруга яркий образец бой-бабы. Она сама строит свою жизнь, сама управляет своим парнем, и сама выбирает когда выйдет замуж. Она также стойко отстаивает интересы Маши. Ситуация осложняется когда в на горизонте появляется Лера, и Колян бесповоротно влюбляется в нее.

Лера - дочь местного крутого бизнесмена Сергей "Иваныча", в Перьми относится к социальному слою "золотой молодежи". Она занимается бальными танцами, обеспечена, особых проблем не знает, красива, полулярна, но тем не менее не испорчена, не глупа, а наоборот довольно-таки умна, в ней нет снобизма, или ложного высокомерия. Она довольна проста в общении с людьми, что возможно и сближает их с Коляном.

И есть местный участковый (куда ж без него-то!), Ознобихин Игорь Сергеевич. Интересный так сказать милиционер, а позднее и полицейский, который искренне (судя по всему с появлением телевидения в его участке) исполняет различные федеральные программы по улучшению среды на своем участке. Именно в его участке происходит много событий, и все наши персонажи так или иначе будут завязаны как с участком, так и с Ознобихиным, и его потрясающим помошником Базановым, влюбленным в проститутку Иванчук.

Вот в принципе как оно есть. Что еще интересно, так это практически все актеры играют самих себя в том смысле что их настоящие имена - это имена их персонажей. Колян это Николай Наумов, который играет Николая Наумова. Два его друга детства это Антоха и Вован - это Антон Богданов и Владимир Селиванов. Некоторые просто играют по своим именам, но измененным фамилиям. Возможно это как бы еще представляет еще больше схожести с реалити ТВ. Тем не менее не все играют по своим именам. Например Зоя Бербер - это Лера. Или подруги Леры, которые играют по выдуманными именами.

Сериал еще раз повторюсь потрясающий. Во-первых диалоги и монологи персонажей перед камерами, ведь они реальны! Ведь так люди и разговаривают, и здесь надо отдать должное и актерам и сценаристам - просто плюс 100 что-ли? Слушать их рассуждения, откровения, разборки, просто радость какая-то. И умудриться подобные разговоры наполнить хохмами из жизни это просто великолепно! Николай Наумов здорово играет гопника! Его мимика, жесты, поведение, просто неповторимы. Но насколько мне стало известно (а я совсем не помню уже такого) Николай был в КВН и этот персонаж был взят именно оттуда. Но одно дело играть в КВН в небольшом скетче, а другое дело, воплотить этот персонаж хотя бы в 33 сериях первого сезона.

Вован и Антоха это просто что-то крышесносящее! Как они говорят! Что они делают! Как тормозят! Особенно Вован! Эта пара просто обалденно дополняет Коляна. Настолько здорово они смотрятся, что по ним реально можно сказать что они гопники из Перьми. Все трое. И ведь даже не поверишь, что Антон, Володька, и Стас (Эдик из салона сотовой связи) близкие друзья, которые вместе участвовали в разных комеди проектах, а Антон является резидентом Комеди Клаб в Перьми. Не поверишь, что гопники вроде них и слабовольный Эдик, участвовали в проекте Смех без Правил. Смотришь, и думаешь, вот ребята, реальные пацаны. Тупят, морозят чушь и всю жизнь проработают в автомастерской. И ведь им симпатизируешь, переживаешь за них, хочешь ты того или нет.

И ведь в чем прелесть! Они сами пишут сценарии! Наумов, Базанов (помощник участкового Озлобихина), Богданов, Сергей Ершов (отец Леры), Антон Зайцев (автор идеи сериала), Игорь Ознобихин, Вован Селиванов, Станислав Тлящев (Эдик) и многие другие. Вот ведь почему все смотрится так органично я бы сказал, так все естественно. Никто не теряет своего обаяния, все разговаривают своим языком (не костным, сценарским языком), все прекрасно знают свою линию и четкое представление о персонаже, никаких тебе "левых" движений, когда действия персонажа вызывают в тебе легкое сопротивление, мол, с какого бодуна он так или так поступил.

Маша и Валя - бой-бабы подруги отлично дополняют друг друга. То как Валя подчинила себе Эдика и в конце концов женила его на себе - это просто надо смотреть в течение долгого времени. То как Базанов признавался Ознобихину в своей любви к проститутке - надо было просто видеть, до того это было истерично смешно. И что в конце концов таки произошла двойная свадьба в лучших голливудских традициях и произошла она в столовой, где работает Мама Наумова - было просто прекрасным завершением первого сезона. Реакция Ознобихина, на то, что на свадьбе будут Менты и Проститутки это просто достойно Оскара! То как Лера стоически и с большим понимаем и снисхождения относится ко всем злоключениям Коляна просто надо видеть. (Однако линия Базанова-Иванчук была испорчена, как мне кажется фактом что Иванчук занималась проституцией буквально за пару дней до свадьбы, но потом все встало на свои места. Эта линия смотрелась несколько жестоко по отношению к Базанову, но все закончилось так как должно было закончится...)

Колян ведь сам по себе-то не злой. Ну просто он такой обычный парень каких много. Просто он парень искренний, действительно никому не желает зла, искренне влюбился в Леру и, всей душой, сам того понимая и не понимая, добивается ее. А она соглашается на его ухаживания, ведь он прост, он не скрывает ничего, он сразу говорит правду, ему нет смысла притворятся или что-то выдумывать чтобы затащить ее в постель. Тем более что он прекрасно понимает кто она и кто он, но и поделать-то с собой ничего не может. Он пробивает ее броню, и Лера сама уже не замечает насколько она увлечена им.

Мама Наумова - это просто шедевр! Это настоящая Мама! Она переживает за сына, за Машку, за Леру, и успевает вовремя настучать Армену, вдруг если что. Ее Армен это также эпический персонаж. Говорит крайне редко, но вроде по делу. Его неизменное выражение лица это блеск! Его способность появляться в кадре в нужные и ненужные моменты умиляет, а его способность уходить из таких ситуаций неизменно оставляет зрителя со смехом.

А посмотрите на Ознобихина! Серия когда он заставил Чеченцев играть с Пацанами? Помните? Помните его фразы?
Ознобихин - Базанов! Базанов! Будешь Лайнсменом. Играем фейрплей.
Чеченец - Не понял, чо играем?!
Ознобихин, с возмущением - Я вам транслейтор что-ли здесь? Не понял он... Честно говорю играем.


Посмотрите на его желание исправлять людей в лучшую сторону, поднимать их уровень образования, социальный статус, борьбу с проститутками, опеку Базанова, и на его потрясающую возможность как у Бэтмена появляться там, где готовится преступление, или замышляется что-то недоброе - это все прекрасно!

Так сказать Характерность всех непередаваема, каждый сам по себе уникален, передать что-то о них это все равно что напеть вам Битлз. Очень желательно смотреть "пацанов". Сериал в лучших традициях напичкан хохмами от начала и до конца.

Единственная проблема как я говорил выше - ситуационность комедии. Это хорошая фишка, которая вытягивает сериал, но в последствии может его и убить. И далеко ходить не надо за примерами. Яркий пример "Универ" и "Универ: Новая Общага". Яркий пример, если еще кто помнит, сериал "Клубничка". В последнем ситуационность просто задобала в конец. Вроде бы неплохо все начиналось, но потом все скатилось в глубокое дно, и безмерно раздражало. Казалось бы взрослые люди, а попадают в нелепейшие ситуации что становилось совершенно не смешным. Вот так сериал и помер тихой смертью. И вряд ли кто его сейчас вспомнит, да и было это лет 10-15 назад. И теперь рассмотрим сериал "Универ" как хороший пример перехода с одного формата в другой и еще более успешный, чем предыдущий. Та же самая ситуационная комедия, яркие персонажи, неплохие диалоги, хорошие хохмы, все успешно и вот вдруг стало приедаться. Все одно и тоже, ничего нового... И, о чудо! Продюсеры и создатели это поняли! Быстро сгруппировались, набросали идеи, и вот вам! Новый, прекрасный формат, несколько старых персонажей из предыдущего "Универа", новые яркие персонажи, новая общага и мы получаем нечто великолепное! Прекрасное! Очень забавное и смешное! И сериал продолжает жить, процветать, актеры расти дальше по карьерной лестнице. А для сериала еще и новая аудитория нашлась, под стать формату.

Я очень жду второй сезон, он уже есть у меня, и я буду его смотреть с большим удовольствием. Как фанат (да, уже фанат) очень не хочу чтобы ребята сдулись. Здесь есть один важный момент, в какой-то момент в той же "Клубничке" абсолютно здравомыслящие люди попадали в тупейшие и идиотские ситуации. В нашем же случае, в случае с реальными пацанами, душевный, недалекий, искренний человек, попадает в глупые ситуации, но реальные ситуации. Такие ситуации случаются и случались с кем угодно на разных этапах нашей жизни. Преимущественно в молодости конечно. Преимущественно по любви конечно. Преимущественно без всякого злого умысла конечно. И команда сценаристов здесь прекрасна! Конечно персонаж Леры может показаться слишком уж надуманным, слегка идеальным, чтобы прощать все косяки Коляну, но ребят, на то она и любовь, чтобы прощать, на то и выдержан персонаж таким образом, чтобы поддерживать Коляна в его искренних глупостях. И Зоя Бербер отлично просто показывает Леру. Ведь она же сказала Коляну про одного из своих ухажеров, мол он такой человек, что ему ничего и никого добиваться не надо, а ее это не устраивает. А уж как Колян добивался Леры! И переживает, что денег недостаточно зарабатывает, но поделать не может с собой ничего. Любит. И боится он "Иваныча" как смерти, но ничего поделать с собой не может. Любит. И Машка вроде попроще и знает как с ней обращаться, но поделать ничего не может с собой. Любит.

Я всем очень рекомендую этот сериал. По мне так это один из лучших комедийных сериалов в последнее время на российском телевидении. Не всем может понравится. Не всем он нравится сейчас. Но если отбросить все условности и высокомерие по отношению к сленгу и Коляну и его друзьям, все может получится. Вы тоже сможете проникнуться и понять всю прелесть.

Из личных предпочтений мне больше всего нравятся персонажи Игоря Озлобихина в роли участкового, Марины Федункив в роли мамы Наумова, Армена Бежаняна (душа и сердце мамы Наумова, который мало появляется на экране, но каждый раз с блеском!) и Владимира Селиванова (Вован!).

Рекомендую всем!

Сериал "Реальные пацаны".

Четвертый день смотрю сериал "Реальные Пацаны" от ТНТ. Потрясающий проект. Удивительные диалоги, хохмы, яркие персонажи (один другого краше), удивительно реалистичный, очень эмоциональный, добродушный и позитивный. Конечно он достоин просмотра, и хорошей рецензии. И это будет моя первая рецензия на русском языке, тем более что и сериал-то специфичный, не думаю что он даже в переводе может сгодиться для зарубежной публики.

Снято уже три сезона, и я думаю что имеет смысл написать что-то по окончании просмотра первого сезона. Я давно так не переживал так за одного из главного героев, как переживал за Коляна. Возможно кто-то посчитает что любовная линия Коляна и Леры выглядит неуместной и притянутой за уши, но на самом деле все не так. В жизни-то ведь много хохм бывает, и вот хохма Леры с Коляном как раз-таки выглядит очень правдиво, и иные моменты просто великолепны!

Думаю через пару дней уже напишу о "Реальных Пацанах".

Brave by Pixar (2012) a less cynical review.

It's been quite a ride for me watching "Brave" in a movie theatre yesterday. I took my whole family to watch it, and the  tearful ride began for us with the trailers before the movie. First, my three year old daughter started crying watching "Amazing Spiderman" trailer... Which I actually like and our 14 y.o. son was quite excited to watch. And then all of a sudden some smartass included "Abraham Lincolc: Vampire Hunter" trailer right before the show! My three year old was thrilled beyond tears, that my wife had to leave the roomm for some time... :) So it all began, now every thunder, or night scenes in the forest were scareful for her. Half the movie she was hiding... Well, what am I talking about... Isn't that the movie review?


I better start with what's good, because it's a great cartoon for the kids actually. Our 14 y.o. son was quite impressed with it, and the plot, and liked every bit of it. A cynical side of me was dissapointed, and that's actually just becuase I had high expectations. (by the way, in such cases I always try to cool myself down, but that doesn't happen as often, I have that strange ability to get excited before, and leave dissapointed. Still not that dissapointed as from Prometheus!).


So, as usual Pixar makes great computer visuals. The whole thing was just beautiful! The forest, the castles, characters were so distinct, and as I like to say a feast for the eyes. As far as I remember usually in Pixar's movies there were very few human characters. I understand that human's are easy to draw, but is far harder to make them well, "human." Motion, actions, movements, facial expressions are quite hard to make true, so that they don't look like robots. A case in point is that motion-capture that Robert Zemeckis uses, and that were brilliantly shown in his "Christmas Carol" (2009). Although commercially not very successful (I blame their stupid marketing campaign!) with the budget of 200 mln and worldwide boxoffice of 325 mln this was a true masterpiece! "Christmas Carol" is a true classic story that Mr. Zemeckis was able to make a living picture. Their stupid marketing campaign made me and others believe that it's a funny ride (of course it's Jim Carrey) for the Christmas and New Year's spirit. While in fact it was a serious story, with some really scary moments. Anyway, about Brave - the whole things with the scots, the characters were so ALIVE! Their mimics, their movements, and everything about characters was so fascinating! Didn't you love the whole sceme when they were fighting each other? Great animation!


Then you see all those forests, and mountains, and dark forests, and the witch, and the bears (that stuff really scared my little one). And again, that stuff scared my daughter, perhaps that stuff is too much for the little ones, but was perfect for the 14 y.o. Perhaps it's a teen movie, cartoon, and not for the very small ones. I didn't expect that. And then again, it's only my daughter, perhaps others were not scared at all. In general: the whole magic of Pixar about that was great. It was really impressive to see all that hard work they made and brought you in this world of old history to you. 


The whole story with the clash of generations, a case in point mother and daughter, and the moral of the story about it was good enough for our son. Yet wasn't very satisfying for me and my wife. It's quite simple, "heard-and-seen-that-before" style. Of course after watching other Pixar works, and Madagaskar 3, I was confident that it'll be fun enough for kids, and fun enough for us. That didn't happen. That's exactly I felt dissapointed. Or perhaps their intent was for the teens, and I just didn't get it. And perhaps those marketing guys didn't get it, and tried to appeal to a wider audience in their trailers and campaigns.


I wrote a short note right after watching "Brave," and today right as I'm writing this review, I've read what other critics say, and what do they say? 
IMDB: 7.6 out of 10 from 1,394 users.
Metascore: 68 out of 100.
Rotten Tomatoes: 6.8 out of 10 based on 140 reviews.
Roger Ebert: 3 out of 4 stars.
Rotten Tomatoes consensus: "It may not live up to the lofty standards of the Pixar brand, but Brave offers young audiences and fairy tale fans a rousing, funny fantasy adventure with a distaff twist — and surprising depth."

Roger Ebert:  "The good news is that the kids will probably love it, and the bad news is that parents will be disappointed if they're hoping for another Pixar groundbreaker."

Well that's a surprising consensus. I wasn't stealing anobody's ideas or thoughts, but I'm surprised how my humble opinion coincides with these guys... Most of the time, mine is quite different from the others. (I got all this from different sources, the most obvious of course Brave of IMDB.COM, Brave on Wikipedia, Brave on Boxofficemojo.com). "Brave started good enough with 24 mln on Friday. You don't have to be Nostradamus to be sure that it'll have a nice ride at the boxoffice, but it'll have a much better run at the television. Still, it really doesn't feel like one of those Pixar miracles that used to come out. Every animation they had was great! I didn't like cars much, but that's solely my problems (exactly because it was made purely for kids, but it was a great one), and I loved Ratatouille (what a mess, it was more for adults, rather than kids). 

Resume: A great one for kids, but not as exciting for adults. Still go ahead there with kids, you don't need to be as cynical as me.

(Perhaps a spoiler. Don't read!)

What was typical about Brave? Three cliche younger brothers. Why did you have to do that? They seemed so obvious, and not really fun (for me, not for kids). The whole story with the mother turning into a bear, so old, so used up, so uninspiring... That spoof witht he witch when she found her for a second time and the bowl answering machine seemed out of place. There were no spoofs before. Why did you add this one? It really seemed out of place. I stop before I add more spoilers and before this review becomes less and less interesting.

Brave by Pixar (2012)

Just watched "Brave" by Pixar. Good animation, great graphics, but all of a sudden a good cartoon for kids. It's not as good as other cartoons by Pixar that were genius in satisfying older and younger generations at the same time. Remember the magnificent "Incredibles" and many other great ones? Suddenly "Brave" was full of characters and ideas that were previously seen long before in many other cartoons. And the general idea of a generations clash or that thing with the bear... So predictable and used up that it seems that their main mojo that only original ideas and scripts used for their new creations is gone now.

Hey, what the hell, my kids loved it. Perhaps I'm more cynical
Than I like to think of myself... Gotta write a better review. See you later.

Thorough review: The Snow White and The Huntsman (2012)

Resume: Just how ugly should the Evil Queen be (Charlize Theron in that case) so that she would want to kill the Snow White (in that specific case Kristen Stewart)???


- She has Man Hands! (Jerry Seinfeld).


What's with the movie title? I don't get it. So, if you're using Miyazaki style Forest Deer, why don't you just use Miyazaki style Movie titles? :)


Why is it Bella Swann all over again? Did she forget it's a different movie now? Oh, yeah... It's Thor all over again... with an axe though... :)


The following is purely and stricly my personal opinion about the movie.

***

Snow White and the Huntman (2012).
Directed by Rupert Sanders
Written by Hossein Amini, Evan Daugherty, and John Lee Hancock
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Sam Spruell, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, Johnny Harris, Brian Gleeson, etc.
IMDB rating: 6.6
Metascore: 55 out of 100 (based on 33 critics)
Budget: 170 mln.
Worldwide boxoffice as of June 19, 2012: 250 mln USD.
Date of US release: June 1, 2012.

***

It's a classic story. I bet it's not worth retelling it, even though they tried to make it a bit different, add new twists and turns, still the classic remains a classic. I'm more than confident that three writers tried to do their best, and in the end we've got a (no, no, not stupid) one of the funniest movies of 2012. It's funny. There was only one irritating moment throughout the whole 2 hours and 7 minutes of running time - Kristen Stewart. I have no idea who decided to hire her as a Snow White... And then, I'm buffled as to why you hired Charlize Theron as Evil Queen? It's an equalizer for me. If you hire Kristen Stewart, you hire someone just as her. If you hire Charlize Theron as Evil Queen, you really work your ass off to find an equaly beautiful and classy girl for a Snow White. And for matter - you really hire someone who can act! Something went really wrong...

Didn't it seem hilarious when that "Mirror, Mirror" guy told Charlize that Snow White-Stewart is her menace, that she's more beautiful, that she's gonna topple her? Of course it was hilarious! Then I guess they realized that they got it wrong... Completely wrong... So they tried to smooth it out with another twist (yeah!): Snow White is Life - the deer said so! Evil Queen is Death! The Deer said so, by kneeling before Snow White-Stewart, and if so, yeah, the Queen is Death. So let the Snow White destroy her.

Oh, that mezmerizing scene when Stewart-White Snow turned out alive and brought that fascinating and hypnotizing speech before all the warriors and people with the promise to lead them to victory and they all responded with Yeah, why not? What the fuck, let's fight, that 18 y.o. will bring us happiness, life, etc., etc. What I see is this, (no, no, it's not a spoiler if you've read the classic fairy tale... If not, go and read it, it's about 20 pages long) Snow White kills the Evil Queen, brings life to all the people and lands, sees how good everything goes, and raises TAXES! You gotta pay for a good life!

What the hell about her saving the kingdom? She was in prison for so many years! WTF? What's with the Troll scene in the Dark Forest? So, for whatever reason you have subdued the Troll in the forrest, shouldn't you be able to call him/her/them to war against Evil Queen? The story was so obvious that you knew war is coming - it was a cheap war - and that's exactly why you should have called for Trolls! So, once you failed to make it fun this way, at least you should have brought it a massive scale war of Evil vs Good!

I guess I should stop here... Otherwise it turns into bullshit review. Just one more thing - the movie is really, really, really, really, really tooooo long.... Produceers! Edutors! You were really obliged to cut it to 1 hour and 30 minutes. Or just leave us all scenes where Stewart was not present...

By that I mean that all actors who starred in this movie did their best in that crapy movie! Charlize was just great! Perhaps she was too dramatic, and complex for that simplicity. I see (hope) that she saw the script and said, I don't care who plays how, I will play my best. And that she did. She simply did her best. With the lines she had to say and act for other actresses it would simply be too easy to become hysterical bitches, and you'd wish them to die as the end nears. With Charlize I really thought that the Snow White should die.

Chris Hemsworth (although I really like him) looked like Thor with an axe. But he's a good actor, and at least he did humor the movie goers a couple of times. It's just that he really looks like a rock that's impossible to move. Even when he spoke that silly monologue in front of the sleeping Snow White, he looked quite serioius. I almost screamed - Please, don't kiss her! You've got to move on! Let her go! :)

Sam Claflin (William - Snow White's childhood friend) and Sam Spruell (Evil Queen's Evil brother) - both looked good. It's just that their characters are so obvious from the screenplay. They just made them both boring. Why wouldn't Snow White-Stewart chose or wake up from William's kiss? He's almost Legolas! Nice bow shooter! As for Evil brother - they made him so weak, he just looked like some pervert whose only idea was sexual contact with the Snow White.

Well the brightest seven spots in the movies are the dwarfs. At first I thought that they hired little people for such roles. I must admit I haven't read or watched trailers for the movie, so I have no idea that the dwarfs are such fine actors! Just think about Bob Hoskins! What a nice feat for the movie! Then we've got other "so-good-to-see-you-onscreen-again" actors! It's Nick Frost from "Paul," "Shaun of the Dead," and "Hot Fuzz." It's Ian McShane from "Deadwood." It's Ray Winstone from "Sexy Beast," and "Beowulf" (the new one). It's Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Brian Gleeson. I know less about the last three, but I've seen them quite often in other movies - they are well known faces to anyone who likes and watches movies a lot. These guys are just fun, why wouldnt they give them more time onscreen? Less time to Stewart and more to them. I really thought that it's Bella all over again. Same gestures, same looks, same sad eyes, same boredom...

Resume: Screenplay and story - D. Kristen Stewart - D. Charlize Theron - B+ (great, but a bit too serious for that simple crap). All Other Actors - B (impressive, but poorly written characters). Cinematography - yeah, ok. Directing - C (give him a break, it's his first time). Don't have to watch, save time and money.

The Snow White and The Huntsman (2012).

I've just watched it. The Snow White and The Huntsman. This one deserves a thorough review... My tagline for the movie and the biggest question of the day at the same time: How ugly should the Evil Queen (Charlize Theron) be, so that you'd wish to kill the Snow White (Kristen Stewart)???

Goon (2011).

Resume: This is probably the most sincere movie I've seen recently.

Director: Michael Dowse

Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates.

Written by: Evan Goldberg, Jay Baruchel.

Produced by: Don Carmody, Ian Dimerman, David Gross, Jay Baruchel, etc.

The plot of the movie is quite simple. Doug Glatt is a bouncer in a local bar. He is dumb to do anything else, and what is more important who knows damn too well that he actually can't do anything else. His family is jewish, and his father is a surgeon as well as his younger brother. That makes him some sort of an outcast in his own family, who try to deal with the fact that their older son doesn't really fit the perfect family picture (nevermind that their younger son is gay). So, very early in the movie Doug goes to a hockey game with his friend, and after his friend has a word brawl with one of the hockey players Doug ends up beating that hockey player badly. And that's when one of the coaches notices him and recruits him as an enforcer in the team. So, for a stupid Doug is all starts out anew. He gets a weird double chance of simply fighting on ice and protecting other players, never really becoming a hockey player...

As I said the plot is very simple. I don't think more should be said about it. I'm hopeful that after reading this review you'll rent a movie and watch it. After I finished the movie the first thing (besides the movie of course) that surprised me was that Jay Baruchel was not only a sidekick to Doug, but also a writer, and a producer. And for that I take off my hat... Wasn't Jay one of those  young funny looking gays in "Rules of Attraction" who almost died among his hysterical friends? Wasn't he the one talking about blu-ray and hd-dvd fight between hollywood moguls in "Tropic Thunder"? Of course that was him. But I would never imagine that he could write and/or produce and act in one and the same movie at the same time. That stuff happens rarely and most of the time ends up bad. Not in this case. His was in the movie, but wisely as a sidekick no more, no less. So, basically he can and he can do it well. I sincerely wish him succes in all that conquest. I hope that he can truly bring to the big screen other projects that would be very good.

Although "Goon" had a very limited release (only 241 theatres) and I couldn't find the movie budget on the web, it's total boxoffice was 6.4 mln USD. Can the movie be a relative success, perhaps it did ok with DVD sales and rentals, and license sale to television? May well be. May well not be. Still it doesn't undermine the goods the movie has, and the fact that in my opinion this one is probably the best role Seann William Scott had. I wrote previously that of all the American Pie gang - Seann William Scott is probably the better actor. He's got the talent. He's got the looks. And he's got some charisma. And he acted more than anyone else (nevermind that they were B movies). Seann William Scott looked natural in the movie, he was truly sincere. That's why the movie went so well and didn't look manipulative.

A good scene was when his family came to see him play/fight for the team. His happiness was beyond any doubt, while his father and mother only thought how horrible the whole thing was. So, Doug had a small chance for a mini monologue for his family: I'm dumb and he's gay, deal with it - never sounded better. Another nice scene was when he asked Eva for a kiss. And when the whole team: tired, drunken, drugged, without any goal in their minds start to believe, well that was all ok with me. Of course that was more a dramatization, but didn't it look natural?

Character build up for Doug was smooth and believable. When he says that he'll take one for the team, he'll do what it takes, and he'll fight for the team you do believe him. So, when he's left alone at the gates and takes a puck in his face, it too looked ok. I'm dumb and I'll do everything what it takes for the team. Did you see Goon? What were your feelings when Doug put his face on front of the puck? What's that? Dumb idiot? Dumbass? Couldn't you raise your hands, turn away, or do something else? Well that's exactly what he is, he is dumb.

Didn't you think that it was to artificial between Eva and Doug? No, it didn't seem like that at all. She fell in love with his sincerety, and masculinity. So, it really doesn't matter how smart you are. He's a goon, he's strong, and sincere. Don't you just love that?

So, why did I like that movie personally? Sincerety and truth. Don't you meet guys like Doug once or twice in your life? Aren't you shocked how simple-minded these guys are? Don't they leave you light-hearted and sympathetic. "You silly fool, how can you survive in that cruel world?" - isn't that the idea that crosses your mind whenever you say goodbye to them? And that's the truth, you know guys like him, you've met them, the problem is, they don't stay for long with you. Seann William Scott's Doug is a rare man, whose sincerety you need from time to time, to remind you that you're not a wolf to any other human in your world. He's there to remind you that sometimes you need to take one for your team, friends, family, wife, child, girlfriend, or baby brother wholeheartedly. You don't have to calculate the goods whenever you have a chance to help someone.

To make a much better comment on Doug's character: he's not that dumb. He sees that other team players don't really respect him, and poke fun at him, he sees that Xavier Laflamme is a drug addict, he sees that coach really has only one purpose for him, he understands his position in the team well to much. But for him being in a team is already an achievement he could never dream of. Yet, he'll waste himself for the team. It was nice to see when Laflamme finally takes him as a partner, and Doug is fully grateful for that.

Other characters were good too. I don't mean to describe all of them - but they all looked very organic in the movie. Watch that movie from time to time to remind you of simple kindness at least. I bet you'll enjoy it more at home than at a movie theatre. As I said in the beginning - it's one of the most sincere movies I watched recently.

More editing.

I must appologize to all who read my blog about movies. I'm doing it for the first time, and most of the time I'm in a rush. I feel an urge to do something as fast as I can, or try to be relevant... I do that at the expense of the quality of my writing. I shall not do this anymore. I will spend more time editing my small articles, so that you may enjoy it without saying "fuck, so many mistakes..."


Now I'll sacrifice relevance to quality. From that very moment. I've edited my piece on Prometheus. I won't edit other articles, but I'll spend a couple days more on every other new review in the future.


If you are reading my blog - a BIG THANK YOU! Stay tuned. More to come in a couple of days. :)


BR.

Prometheus (2012) final review.

Prometheus made big headlines, there was great anticipation, fine viral marketing, great teasers, and Damon Lindelof as a writer... after the hype is gone I believe that the story sucks, alien-prequel-anticipation looks like a spinoff, and the movie leaves you stumbled, or if you've got a great sense of humor, you feel amused :)


So, the story is stupid, you are wide open to make guessess and build your own interpretations of everything. And that really sucks. Some movies (for that sake even Inception is great) leave you debating, and arguing, and talking about it afterwards. Movies like Inception are a treat, they really give you food for thought, while Prometheus doesn't really "feed your brain."  We've seen stuff like that before, nothing new at all. Search for eternal life, search for "creators," "engineers" in this case, etc.??? Been there, done that before. (However, must note, I watched it in Russian in a movie theatre. Still how bad can you translate that?). So, big F for the story. Some may argue with me on that, and Prometheus may easily be likable by teens (R-rated by the way), yet there are more powerful stories on that very topic.


Let's talk about visual effects. Now that stuff is great. There's no complaining about that. And there you've got a problem as it turns out in movies like this one: hey, we've got bad story, let's make great visuals, find star cast, add sex with Charlize Theron, and we've got a hit. And that's exactly what they did.


Now the actors in Prometheus are great. Even though they have to say those stupid lines, and act in weird story arcs, they do their best. How about that ridiculous scene when Charlize and Idris talk about having sex? Absolutely stupid, served no purpose at all. Sometimes such scenes are necessary to build a character (in this case with Charlize), but it looked so artificial and so unnecessary that it rang no bell. Still Mr. Elba could make it look decent, thanks to his talent. 


Noomi Rapace acted decently, and looked good in "Ripley's shoes," but even Ripley couldn't be superhuman! I understand that it's the future, everything's evolved and progressed and the technological advances blow your mind... But, please explain it to me, how can a woman give birth to an alien creep, staple her belly, and run around like Rambo? That's no sci-fi, that's a fairy tale. I bet we'll see more of her in her Hollywood career. She's one of those actressess that can really play different roles easily due to her looks. I mean that she can easily be a badass (Lisbeth Salander) or the hero (Elisabeth Shaw). Two completely different, yet strong characters. We'll see her next year in Passion directed by Brian de Palma with Rachel McAdams (Rachel is a charming one).


Sean Harris, an assasin and right-hand of Cesare Borgia, and band leader in 24 Hour Party People, is a pleasure to see. However, they didn't give him much time, which is a pity. His talent is far beyond that nervous asshole he played. I'm sorry he died so early in the movie. He could've saved masterfully a few more meaningless scenes just by being there...


Charlize Theron was ok, but that's not her fault. Her character was actually unnecessary. And that's true, you could easily erase her character, and the story won't change much. She was the one brought for box-office success, and she did her job well. (Of course, that argument may sound weak since her other movie The Snowwhite and the Huntsman didn't do as well, although she was the main antagonist there).


Idris Elba was also fun. He could've been boring, for he is the captain of the ship, and what could you make out of it (Unless you're Mel Reynolds created by Joss Whedon). Why on earth would he give his life up just because Dr. Shaw told him something quite incomprehensible? That was very uncovincing... It made me cry.You really have to make your case, before someone agrees to die for anything. At least for us: the viewers. And if their small ship - not a battlefield one - could easily destroy "engineers' " ship, why couldn't those people on planet Earth do it just as easily without sacrificing anybody's life? Shouldn't they have a big Bomb there in 2089?


Now the two most interesting characters and two most notable roles here are of Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland and Michael Fassbender as David. I've always loved Guy Pearce. The first time I saw him in LA Confidential I loved his acting. The second time I saw him in Memento I was confident that he's one of the most talented actors of his generation. It's a pity that he's not on screen that often. And the way he played Peter Weyland is beyond any praise. Although Weyland's desires are cliche, Mr. Pearce was more than convincing in such desires. His acting was quite powerful, and due to makeup, he's done his best by acting with his eyes. Watch the scene with him and Charlize Theron as they talk. You'll know what I mean.


As for Michael Fassbender as David he easily became a center piece of Prometheus. All the weaknesses of the movie are somewhat reimbursed with his character and the way he portrayed him. He is probably the only character you sympathize with, or even more, empathize... What is more fun, he's an android. It's always a problem with androids. You're not really sure if they are half-human. First anroid in Alien was pure evil! But he was programmed to do so. Second android was a good guy. But he was programmed to be so! Here not everything is as clear... I'm not sure why writers had to mess with that idea too... Can he feel, does he understand he's AI, is he angry, did he poison Charlie Holloway out of spite, or because he was programmed to do so, or because it's both? Why did you mess with that kind of shit? He is an android who looks like an android, his facial expressions were limited, then why did you add that stupid emotional side to him? Nevertheless Michael Fassbender did a great job. Even though his character is dubious (or may be because of that) he looked more real than any other character there. And once his facial expressions were limited here, he was able (just as I said about Guy Pearce) to act with his eyes only. You could read hate, disgust, arrogance - all in his eyes!


Resume: Shity story, Alien looks like a spinoff, a certain side-effect (if you erase any mention of Alien it would even be better!), great Pearce and Fassbender. The only reason you decide to watch it is for actors like Pearce and Fassbender, for anything else it's a waste of time. If you wanna look for the meaning of life, eternal life, "creators" and "engineers" watch other movies that make more sense and will leave you in a philosophical mood... This one will not. Even Dogma has more sense, creativity, and is more controversial!

Prometheus (2012 film) by Ridley Scott.

A short note about that movie. How can an R rated movie collect 50 mln at the boxoffice? That's not all... I think I must share the fact that Prometheus is so incomprehensible and the story is so poor that I'm so freaking amazed by the fact that it could collect so much money in it's first outing. Yet the answer seems simple. Great cast, great viral campaign, great visual effects, and a lot of cash spent on marketing... they really know their job. Mark my words, it'll lose a lot during the second week run... Someone said that it's all about Charlize Theron that account for the good boxoffice run, yet we see "Snowwhite and the Huntsman" falling rapidly and Charlize Theron is the main antagonist in the movie... Moviegoers didn't really do that well for her... Or maybe that's because "Madagascar's Europe's Most Wanted" cut through it. Still Prometheus managed to get a hefty 50 mln with Madagaskar on it's way.


I should write more about, but as I see it: Pooooooooor story, gooooooood visuals, great acting from almost everyone in the main cast (Rapace, Fassbender, Pearce and others), and again pooooooooooor story (just as incomprehensible as Lost series - was that Lindelof writing for Prometheus? Now it's all clear for me)... In a couple of days I'll write more about that grand-scale scam called Prometheus.... Stay with me...

Madagaskar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.

(I haven't edited this one, I just wrote it, I'll edit it later :) Just wanted to share about it asap)


Now that animation is just a feast for the eyes, and mind-bending story that goes beyond borders... Just as my wife and I watched the final titles the feeling of a celebration struck us wave after wave, as if we are both wind-surfers unexpectedly covered by those desirable ocean waves to make our great surfing show... Yes, that was just some non-stop journey, and I might say that each new sequel to the first is just better than the previous one. Madagaskar The First - was ok. Nothing so special except for the Self-Proclaimed King Julian, and those Penguins that made is so fun to watch. Now the second was even better. There it started that non-stop ride fromt the beginning till the end... and it left our main characters stuck, but with the expectation of a great ride ahead... So, right when I watched the first trailer with the "I'm sexy and I know it" song in the background I knew - that's gonna be something really, really enjooyable...


So, here's the story. Our main characters Alex the Emphatic-To-Be-Leader-Lion, Marty the Party-Animal-Zebra, Melman the Crazy-Romantic-Phlegmatic-Giraffe-In-Love, and Big-and-Chunky Gloria the Hippo are left in Africa. Penguins leave them, promise to come back, but don't want to come back and spend all the African Gold and Gems in Monte Carlo... Soon enough home sick Alex realizes that pengiins and chimps are not coming back, so, if they want to go home, they have to go to Monte Carlo and persuade them to go home... And that's where it all starts... We've got just about 5-10 minutes of all that sweet home-sick drama, and enough is enough... right after that you've got a thrill ride of your life! And that's not worth talking about, that's worth watching. Because on their way home, they meet so many wonderful and fascinating characters that their whole journey becomes a Circus... :)


Well we are all quite familiar with the main characters from two other stories, and they are basically the same... All those great voices from Stiller, Rock, Pinkett-Smith and Swimmer do their job at the best... But what is worth mentiong are the NEW crazy characters they meet on their way and the first one worth great praise is Captain Chantel DuBois by Frances McDormand! What a feat! What a character! A true fanatic of animal control, extremely professional, knows her job well better than other guys in other jobs... She has the strength to digest all those misfortunes that Alex's Gang put her through... What an acccent! You just watch how she rides on her scooter through the streets of Monaco! Now that's something that really blows your mind, as you would never expect such a crazy fantasy in action from the creators of Madagaskar 3. They way she finds the Gang, they way she sees where and how they go, and the way she deals with the Italian police!!! Worth every moment! With all her serious great drama roles in Cohen brothers' movies, you'd never expect such a character  explode in motion animation on screen (yeah, yeah! She always looks so serious!)....


Another great character of course is Stefano the Sea Lion with the well below the average IQ by Martin Short... And Martin Short we all know him! A great master of comedy, any comedy, but most of all physical... I believe that most of his physical comedy went into Stefano. He's the major force in the lacklustre circus - who actually still believes that they can regain all that glory of the past... but he's just a believer and he doesn't know what to do next... (well perhaps with the understanding of his low IQ :) he knows that he's unable to do anything, but he really believes in it.. and when he meets Alex, he blindly trusts that he can revive the show). Stefano is probably the brightest star in the third movie. My great great thanks to Mr. Short for such a character! (I'm a fan of Mr. Short from long time ago, since the first time I saw "Three Amigos!")... His dialogues with Alex and others are so funny, so entertaining, and by the end of the movie when you see him in trouble, you almost weep :) (well don't worry, Stefano gets saved by the Gang, but you've got to see it.)


A character which just had to be there for a dramatic element is Vitalyi the Russian tiger voiced by Bryan Cranston. Well this character just had to be there, so that everyone unites around him, and he unites everyone for one sigle cause. There's more fun about him when they escape the Zoo, but as for the rest of the show he remained quite predictable. Gia The Classy Lovely Jaguar is almost like that, but of course a good character, also with a quite predictable story line.Other fun characters are the little dogs, and one voiced byt Vinnie Jones. Vinnie Jones is always a nice actor to watch and hear... Well he's got that spark and that grand stature that's always nice to see and hear. Especially funny knowing that he voices the smallest dog from the Circus.


Well, another new Animal makes it curious for Madagaskar 3 is Sonya the Bear. While it's ok that all animals talk, their mimics is fun and lively, they think and act, run and plan, drive planes, fix machines and etc., Sonya is a Dumb bear... She actually is an animal unlike all those human like pengiuns, Vitalyi with his fears and past troubles, Alex with his home-sickness, Marty with his wild desires for a travelling and even Melman with his love for Gloria... All of a sudden among all those caricature wild beasts, Sonya is a real beast. She's a bear! And a true circus bear who can ride a bicycle (later a motorbike)... Her loveline with Julian is fun to watch, but why make her so different from the rest? Perhaps that was the idea, because it wouldn't be as charming between Julian and Sonya the way they made it. Their romantic trip to Vatican, their break-up wouldn't look as lovely.


Anyway - all new characters are fun, some more, some less... But that's the Circus... Some are more, and some are less... And in the end what's that all about? THE CIRCUS! The whole magic of the circus is right there, before your eyes. That colorful feast as I have perhaps said before is just what makes it so upbeat. You feel so enlivened! Madagaskar 3 is probably more enjoyable for adults for all those gags and jokes, and parodies in the Naked-Gun-Hot-Shots-Airplane style, but it is more enjoyable for kids for all those Circus shows the old Gang and the new Gang created to lift up their spirits and get their mojo back... Imagination blasts from inside of you, you're out of control! And both kids and adults watch the Circus with admiration, but having different feelings...I'm not sure what kids feel, but adults I believe simply recall their childhood, and all the magic of those circus shows from their long-forgotten past... From the times they don't really remember visually, but remember it with their guts, with that tickly feeling in the circus of their childhood...


Hoorah to creators! They've managed to create a cartoon for both kids and adults! They've managed to balance great fun, and a bit of sad! They've managed to make the third movie better than the first, and the second (and to tell you the truth I didn't like much the first one, but enjoyed greatly the second one). If you haven't seen it, do it right away! Take your family! Your kids! By the end you'll be sorry that Madagaskar finished so early... On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this cartoon an 8! It's really worth watching in in the movie theatre, rather than at home. 3D is pretty good, so don't miss it!

Those are brave men knocking on our door... Let's go kill them!

What a feat! What an episode! Oh, yeah... and Tyrion! Dinklage at his best. Though the chaos of the battle was more or less ok, it was far more complex and intense. Tyrion's decision to go for battle wasn't dictated by the fact that there was no one else to lead as it was shown there. He didn't mean for Joffrey to lead. He knew Joff would never and could never do that. His only purpose for Joff was that he simply stays in the eyes of all men fighting. Dog ran away during the battle, and Tyrion hardly knew of that. It was rage that dictated his decision to go for battle. It was his duty as a hand to go there, knowing that there's simply no one else to lead. It was fear that he could die easily, so at least half-man would die with an axe in his hand. It was a pure rage that while he was doing his best to save the city and its people, everyone in King's Landing thought he was the reason for all the misgivings (in fact most of that is Cersei's fault, due to her poor management skills, if I may put it. She didn't care, while he cared a bit, but also knew of the dangers of all those poor hungry men hold while in the city). It was also the desire to prove to his father that even though he's a dwarf, he's also a man. There's also Shae, if not him, then who would protect her. And when he was in a battle it was pure adrenaline rush when he fought more and killed more than shown in ep. 9.

So, why am I saying that? The answer is simple - they showed that he was a man put in a corner and was made to make that decision. While in a book his showed pure bravery of a little man, who knew he's there to die for King's Landing. What's good to see in ep. 9 was the fact that Tyrion was just as sorry for Stanis' men, as he was for himself and his men. Notice his sorrow as wildfire burst and destroyed the ships, and he looks at Joff who's smiling? That one was a good stroke from the creators and writers.

Nevertheless a fantastic episode. Most enjoyable - WILDFIRE! That was just awesome! Summary: Tyrion was brave and you believe when you read a book. He wasn't just cornered to go to the battle.

While also watching the final episode I realised that perhaps the best casting was that of a Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister. Why? Well because in a book that guy is cold, pragmatic, possesses great political and war knowledge, well in general he's some sort of a genius in all that stuff. It's quite easy to portray that kind of a person. Yet Charles Dance brings him as a human for a man whom Westerosi think "shit's gold." Some of the characters you would imagine yourselves as looking like this or that when reading the books, but it's only Charles Dance who fits Tywin Lannister so perfectly (of course it's my humble opinion). Not only he does portray Tywin the way you would imagine and enjoy, but he's got that great ability to add a few strokes of his own to make him even more great, dangerous, charismatic. If you were his enemy, say if it were Charles Dance, you'd certainly be afraid of him, and respectful. If you do so, you could live a few more days, but you'll lose eventually.

After a dissapointing ep. 8 - where everything went wrong, dull, and not as it was in the book (yeah, I didn't quite like it when they had to change important stuff that happened in Harrenhall so that Arya doesn't kill, why? Tell me why??? It was so important for the character development to see her kill the guard at Harrenhall to escape) ep. 9 was such a meatball to enjoy... :)

Endnote: Tyrion is as good as you expect him to be, thanks to Dinklage. Charles Dance is coming out to front stage. Witchhunt is about to begin as Dog leaves the King. Cersei is about to be... (spoilers!)... Let's wait for the season finale...

We Bought A Zoo (2011).

Directed by Cameron Crow. Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson. Budget 50 mln USD. Worldwide gross 113 mln USD.

It's a boring one.

Trailer for Armour of God 3: Chinese zodiac.

Hey guys! Jackie's back! That's his trailer for Chinese Zodiac aka Armour of God 3... That's his good old-fashioned style that we love him for that much... As said, Hollywood has messed with him, and reduced all his skills to bad English... After that movie, and so sorry that it's going to be his last action movie (or he's just saying it...), we may love him for what he is and what he did to kung-fu movies... Full packed action, nice humor, pure joy!

Armour of God 3: Chinese Zodiac.

Jackie's back! He's doing it in his classic style and doing it for the last time... That's a pity of course, but we've got to see his classic stunts that make him great. Well that's why we loved him, but once he got to hollywood it all went wrong. Certainly his Rush Hour trilogy went well with the general public, but that's not goold ol' Jackie we knew... So we hope that on December 12, 2012, preliminary release date for Chinese Zodiac, will be just as exciting as his other movies were and are. Hollywood spoiled his style, ruined it!!! Hoorah for the Jackie reborn!!!

Gangster Squad.

Just watched a new trailer on IMDB for Gangster Squad and I'm excited to watch that movie. Well of course the trailer for the movie is good, and those guys are good at making those trailers. It's pretty self explanatory as you watch it. So, we see here real life batman's, who with the decision of the top-top-top policy makers, policeman who really go to war with all the gangs in order to clear LA of them. The rule of law being established with blood. They go beyond doubt and never arrest anyone, since they realize that if they act according to the letter of law they will always lose that street war. They have to be unlashed so that they can level the playing field with the bad guys. Well that was always interesting to see, wasn't it? It's some kind of a mixture of LA Confidential and Untouchables, but rough for a contemporary folk. At least that's what the trailer suggests...


But what have we got more. We've got Ruben Fleischer - the guy who made the hillarious "Welcome to Zombieland." - Yeah! That's the guy who dared killing Bill Murray! And the audience loved it. Well who like if not Bill Murray could do it in such a Murray-style-hillarious fashion??? However, that's a completely different genre for Fleischer, and that's a wonder. It seems more like a genre for many other directors, who have really done something like that before. Well, perhaps, and that's my greatest hope, Ruben may just do something different or let's say add something new to the genre as he did with the "Zombieland." (Still, Zombie land was fun, hysterical at times, and a general parody, and Gangster Squad looks like the real stuff). Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best.


There is a lot to hope for, and crossing our fingers may work, because we've got... Yeah, we've got them! Actors! We've got Nick Nolte as Bill Barker - the guy who says "don't arrest them!" And it's Nick Nolte do I need to say more? We've got the guy with fascinating versatility as Giovannin Ribisi, and I just love him. Wasn't he the doctor in Saving Private Ryan, and the Phoebe's brother in friends? Even if there was no one else I know in the movie, I'd go to see him in that kind of a role. But there's more. There's Josh Brolin! The characters he plays make me believe may beat anyone with a bat to death and tell a woman that he loves her with the same expression on his face. Perhaps that was some wrong comparison, but that guy's got charisma. He's that tough guy you don't wanna mess with. Just remember how desperately he ran and ran in "No Country for Old Men," even though he knew he was a deadman already? Yet he remained tough until the very end. (There's also Michael Pena there, but I don't really like him. He's always the same in every movie he plays. I don't know why. He's got the same expression on his face in every scene, and every movie. Perhaps he can do something different in that movie? Can Ruben Fleischer do something about his acting?)


We see Robert Patrick there! That T-1000 killing machine. I always like him, and felt sorry that he wasn't in many more movies. Shouldn't he have been a great star right after the movie, I mean Terminator 2: Judgement Day? Well nevertheless, it's always a pleasure to see him in any movie, and this movie may turn out something special.


There's also Anthony Mackie, Sgt JT Sanborn from The Hurt Locker. To tell you the truth I haven't seen any other movies with him, but he was quite good in The Hurt Locker. So, I won't tell more about him, just one thing, he was good in The Hurt Locker.


Then we've got Ryan Gosling, I believe many magazines would call him a heartthrob :) Well, I know that he played in many movies in that specific roles that ladies like, but more recently he starred in "Drive" and "Ides of March" for which I read some reviews from sources I respect and they put a good word for him. So, after I watch those movies, I'll tell more. Well ladies, that heartthrob is changing his amplua, he's not cliche nice-guy anymore I guess, and that movie is made primarily for male audience... So you may not even see that movie.


And now, we've finally got Sean Penn. What is funny about him, is that he's got some funny make-up on his face. Some big nose, and may be something more, but he's the guy who resembles Sean Penn. He looks funny, but we may expect such a tough line from his character who is a high-class gangster that he may look like a real menace to all...


There's no date for that movie for now (at least there's no info on imdb.com) but it may come much later... well at least after The Dark Knight, or it will spoil it all for movie. Everything realeased on a week and after The Dark Knight released is doomed. Don't do it to the "Gangster Squad."


(Let's make it top priority movie, for those who like tough-guy movies, and enjoy all those actors just as I do) :)