Returning...

Once again it has been a while since l last shared something on this blog. At the time I was spending some self-imposed holidays at home.

And a bunch of stuff changed have since as I've started a new chapter on the professional side of my life: working on a PhD project and thus extending my stay in Strasbourg by 3 more years.

So, in the last month I got my diploma, a job, a new house, made new friends and became mobile with this cutie, which I'm using to write this post.

See you soon!

Past-Future

It was assumed to be an alteration of the Matrix, it is a phenomenon that most people encounter several times in their lives; I, myself, have lived it pretty often. I'm talking about deja-vu.
Every once in a while it might feel like the same thing has already happened just the way it does at the time; and I want to know what is all of this about!
The thing is that there are no real theories behind the event; it can't be lab-s(t)imulated so it is nearly impossible to study it. So all the real ideas are as plausible as the fictional ones.
What's uttered is that deja-vu could be related to syndromes such as schizophrenia or anxiety or that it's a malfunction in the perception of memories, which would place stuff that happened milliseconds ago in a far distant period of time.

Opening the gate to other worlds, first we have dreams. The phenomenon is depicting something you've dreamed in a vivid moment; but dreaming something that particularly precise, ain't it wicked? (But I have a strong feeling that you'll be reading some other stuff about dreaming here soon.)
 There's also the Matrix proposition, but that's a bit far-fetched.
And so we're left with the final explanation, which I tend to embrace in a supernatural way of seeing things even though Fringe is not my cup of tea...drum-roll...Deja-vus are glimpses of memories from other dimensions that the person has already visited. So our minds go wandering from time-place to time-place and their keep little tokens that come up when you except the least.
I guess that makes us all visionaries (if we could trigger the reenactment at any given instant) or is my dark side darker that I thought, with its deja-vus any other month...

Far from being Despicable at all

Wits: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 5/5
Rating: 4/5 

Gru is a vilain, and one of the good ones. Now he needs to reinstate himself as the greatest of them all and to do so he has to aim up-high. But this time he needs more than his recurrent help and thus...the PowerPuff Girls are born...sorta...they're three little girls with similar behavior as the said cartoon characters but with no superpowers.

To paraphrase one of the girls: this movie is so funny I'm gonna die!!!
The general idea is not the newest on the market: a bad guy gone softer due to something/someone fuzzy and sweet showing up in his life, but the final product is worth its 3D ticket money. The roller-coaster ride is pretty awesome.
At the beginning it seemed to be a little slow and used-up, but it gets a real boost after ten minutes. I guess the thing is that Gru alone is just another Igor-like speaking villain, but all it really needs is some interaction with another character to let the fun come out.
Also, Thumbs-Up for the Minions who fill-up their part more than decently emphasizing on the less subtle side of humour, but funny nonetheless. The girls, in general, are OK, although I was not looking for the hearty part of the movie, so the little sister appealed to me more being the funniest of the three.  
If you go to see it in theatres wait for the first part of the credits also there are some amusing and enjoyable 3D sequences.
All in all, it's an entertaining animation with a good 3D finishing.










Funny - Spoiler Alert!!!

Agnes (the little one) is to die for. 
Personal fave: the fluorescent Minion
I don't know why but all of Vector's stuff look very Apple-ish which is ironic since he looks like a teenage Bill Gates
The Bank of Evil: formerly Lehman Brothers 
"Mr. Gru is nice / But scary / Like Santa"
GRU is actually the name of the new KGB

Ode to Chemistry - IYC 2011

Next year it's the International Year of Chemistry, and I consider this to be a huge opportunity for this field of activity to get a better image.
Nowadays the public opinion mostly ignores or associates this branch of science with all the bad stuff in the world. Well, it is time to spread out the word and bring out the coolness in Chemistry. As a chemist I can assure you that the opportunities in this domain are limitless and that without Chemistry, all the commodities that are today taken for granted would not have been possible. A shortlist would be:

• Medical and Pharmaceutical advancements 
• Transportation
• Technical and Device Development
• Energy
• Food
• Constructions
• Cosmetics
• Quality of living

...and many more

You would probably bring up the Environmental issue, but that is like saying that the Nuclear Bomb is the fault of Atomic Physics. The thing is, Chemistry has the capacity to clean-up after itself (it already provides the tools, you know...), all that is needed is that the humans really take the situation seriously and change their views and behavior.
So, for all the Chemists out there, do your job well and be good lobbyists! and for the non-Chemists widen your perspective on this amazing Science!

How the bash an epic story...

Acting: 1/5
Story: 2/5
Perception: 2/5
Rating: 2/5


I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it. So, it's my turn to trash it.
The movie is a remake of the 80s which follows Perseus' quest to save the world. For those of you who don't know, he's a demigod, son of Zeus, who wants to revenge his mortal family.
There's no delicate way to say it: the film is boring. The characters are predictable and linear, so even if the actors were good, you couldn't tell it out. Concerning the story, it was not supposed to be original (remake, remember!), but being an action movie some thrills were in order, but they're kinda washed out; not to mention the transitions from scene to scene, or the involvement of some characters.
The SFX and the CGI were ok, though not that spectacular to render the movie more attractive. It's true I didn't see it in a theater, but given the fact that everybody criticized the 3D conversion, I'm not sure that it would have mattered.
The only cool scene was the battle against The Medusa, but that's just not enough.
In conclusion, this movie could be skipped without much remorse. 








Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

I didn't understand why the film (even the original one) was called Clash of the Titans, the Gods are barely present, so why mention they ancestors. Speaking of the Gods, Hades really needed some throat pills. 
The two hunters seemed fun at the beginning, but they quickly became anachronistic and then disappeared with no reason. And the sort of prophet was creepingly annoying.
 Come on, a black Pegasus!
It's really intriguing how come Hollywood skipped this opportunity for another cheesy love story, because originally Perseus started the quest in order to win Andromeda's hand.



 

Imperfect is the new Good

With a slight 10 days delay here comes my input on Imperfect Harmonies, Serj Tankian's new album.

You might have guessed (or already known) that he's the vocalist from S.O.A.D. If you've listened to his first solo album Elect the Dead, you'll feel a change in style; if you haven't, FYI it is a back to the roots of SOAD.
Getting to this piece, the title suits the content entirely. It is a mix of soughing notes, disturbed rhythms, a good voice, some metal touches and synthesizer add-ons. I can't say that it was what I expected, but I'm impressed of the end-product; musical evolution can still go the right way. 
My SOAD background makes me mostly enjoy tracks like Left of Center (and therefore all of the previous album) but this one has a new harmony going on and deserves at least a full listening. It might appeal to you, System of a Down fan or not.

Every good movie carries a secret

Acting: 4.5/5
Story: 4/5
Perception: 4/5
Rating: 4/5


....this one has plenty.
If you think your family is weird, check this one out: a corrections officer father, a secretary mother, a teen son, a college daughter, a special guest and an acquaintance. And each one has a hidden secret...well, it is time to share!
The whole idea was cool, and the combination of the characters' various traits made it even better.
First of all Andy Garcia was brilliant, I'd watch the movie just for his performance. He might have Hispanic blood but he pulls out a true Italian. All the other characters revolve around him and fill in the story when needed in a very good way.
The setting completed the picture just enough, since not much was needed; all that counts are the people.
There are a couple of slight plot holes but that wouldn't change the flow of the story.
In the end, it's simply a good chill-out movie...just like the scape of City Island.










Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

Favorite scenes: the audition, this shows Garcia's skill, going from a disoriented prison guard to an out-of-his-minds bully back-and-forth in a matter of seconds, and of course the final act.
Personal opinion: the kid was pretty deranged...
The college paying stripper myth employed once more.
There are moments when time flies really fast, like when Vivian got out of the club in her robe...
Tony seems to be The One who makes everything fall into place, with some help from Molly's intrusions.

900 Eclipses

After a week of inactivity I return with a music related post, because today A Thousand Suns, the new Linkin Park album, is out.

I noticed some evolution in their sound, it's got a more emotional touch to it, but that doesn't mean this is an improvement.
Actually from the 10-12 real tracks, 2-3 are bearable, the rest is borderline wimping. It is sad when you think that the best album of a quite famous band, with a 10 years plus career,  is their first one, but that's the truth. Hybrid Theory was good, the others had respectful parts but never reached the initial force. This one is almost useless in my tracklist, since it lacks the original punch; because the purpose of LP in my music collection was to blow off steam after a long day...well, can't do that anymore, can I.

Disappointment!

Logic defing action story aka Cold-War Reloaded

Acting: 3/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 2.5/5
Rating: 3/5

I went to see this movie with the hope that it would be different from what it seemed to be...and it was but not by much.
Being one of the most bombarding trailers out there, I guess you know what's supposed to be about. In short, some Russian spy points out an American agent, Evelyn Salt, to be in fact one of his fellow spies who would kill some president. After that we're dragged into a 1h+ action sequence consisting in chases, explosions, shoot-outs, infiltrations...
The double-agent mystery idea was quite a good one, and the there are some unpredictable twists in the plot, but it kinda ends up there. In addition, there's also a Cold War shiver that comes and goes that I find somewhat worn-out after two decades of Russian-American accords. 
I'm am not an Angelina fan so I can't say that I was impressed by her acting; for me she's a good support actress (Wanted, Mr. & Mrs/ Smith - yes Brad was the lead, she just followed up) not more (never seen Changeling and never will). On the other side Sabertooth was more convincing, not that he had tons of stuff to do.
Now comes the part that should have vouched for the movie, the action sequences, and, sadly, they were pretty disappointing, luckily with some exceptions. I get that she was a super-spy but there are laws that could never be broken and those are physics and common sense. The almost Matrix-like flying around or falling all over the places and getting up afterwards aren't good examples of obeying those two.
So, for me it isn't worth more than a movie night on the couch between friends.       









Noticed Facts - Spoiler Alert!!!

The Taser induced acceleration was almost hilarious. And so was the whole elevator shaft scene.
I noticed that she didn't need to much makeup to look like a guy :p
Who come that when they run in some subway station the escalator is never crowded so they can slalom easily?
If they're pulling a sequel after the more than exaggerated final scene, it is pure BS...
 I'm no biology expert, but I'm not so sure that one can extract the spider venom with a common syringe...
A highly dangerous suspect kept in a SUV with just two clumsy guard, instead of a full-packed van looks more like a joke.
Couldn't they get a real Russian to play the president?
...and this is just a short list of what I could remember. 

Castle

Here I go writing about another series: Castle

 
It is a police investigation series which started in 2009. But just as for The Mentalist, the action revolves around one non-police character, armed with a sky-high ego. In this case, it is a successful mystery author who goes by the name of Richard Castle. After deciding to kill he's star hero, he strikes a slightly writer's block. That's when he meets his new muse Detective Kate Beckett, and pulls up some strings to follow her around  for her cases.
The essence of the investigations is not extremely developed: some interrogations, few forensic scenes (but I don't miss that), a chase or two; and the solution of the cases usually comes on the spur of the moment.
But what holds everything together is the chemistry between Castle and Beckett, their small confrontations being delightful.
So if you enjoy slightly immature, egocentric, narcissistic, stubborn and big-mouthed characters, this is your thing.

Great vintage-looking animal adventures animation

Wits: 4/5 (of the characters, no real acting in an animation)
Story: 4/5
Perception: 4.5/5
Rating: 4/5

Mr. Fox was a very talented thief, but Mrs. Fox made him promise to give up this way of life. Now they've got a cub, and Mr. Fox writes a column in the Gazette but he still wants to pull up his final grand act. So he takes on the three sites neighboring his house.
Since their owners did not enjoy this and also being very mean, revenge came shortly after; the whole animal community getting affected and the situation becoming pretty complicated.
It is an animation movie, but a quite special one, the props being real puppets and thus creating a somewhat vintage look. Also the music is brilliantly chosen having its own charm.
The main character really fits Clooney like a glove, a talented action planner capable of evading impossible situations led by a strong ego (a Danny Ocean of the animal kingdom). But the most powerful character is Mrs. Fox, who influences her husband through the excellent voice of Meryl Streep.
I particularity enjoyed the opossum and his black-out sessions.
One tiny drawback from my point of view was the 100% anthropomorphism, but this didn't affect the movie as a whole. 
All in all, it is a very good pass-time picture, to be enjoyed in any situation.















Thoughts - Spoiler Alert!!!


Another drawback was the transvestite Ash (the son) at the end, the rest of the idea of a troubled teenager was ok in my book, but this was dumb.
All the animals had jobs, but what were they working for? The community? because I didn't catch any reference to some kind of currency, but the opossum did have a Titanium Card.
That rat was really creepy.
 The dead-eyes looked like XBox logos.

$$$-madness

The biggest and greediest movie BS in history. I didn't think much of Cameron's originality but he sewed all the stolen concepts pretty well to make the blockbuster Pandorean story.
So after that well molded forgery, he got to the next level: bloody highway theft. Not only that he has the first 2 Box-Office pictures, but also wants to rip-off everyone by releasing a long version of Avatar in theaters. 8 minutes were added to the film, and the price is even higher that a normal 3D movie (ex. in France it's about 15€ - full price) because it is only IMAX 3D.
I find this outrageous for all the people who bought the DVD, one of its purposes being to reveal the director cuts. There are 3D TVs now; it's almost as real as in cinema! These people should ask to pay only the IMAX extra, because 8 min on a 160 min movie is 5%, that means almost nothing, there are no changes in the story whatsoever.
I wonder if the guys who came with the idea were stuck that much in financial fertilizer that they wanted to suck every cent they could from the franchise. They have invented the infinite sequel (the infiniquel): let's add the time the actors spent in the bathroom and make a big campaign about it...
Also I heard that a real sequel might see the light of day, and that's just another BS. It took him 15 years to come up with unobtainium what will there be after only a couple more?!?!. This story has been told, Jakesully has nothing more to say, not that he had much to say in general, use the technology to create something new, and original this time; change the color theme for instance!

Gray Stock-market - part 1

Acting: 4/5
Story: 3.5/5
Perception: 3.5/5
Rating: 3.5/5


Noticing that a sequel was coming up soon I took a look at the original, and I was more than ok.
It is the story of stockbroker who's all focused on earning a spot between the Big Players. So he gets the attention of the slickest of them all and takes a shot at the opportunity. So the dark side of the business starts to become grimmer and grimmer and he has to make some difficult choices.
The main character (Sheen jr.) did his part fine but the real deal came from Douglas and Sheen, who were like the Devil respectively the Angel on Bud's shoulders. His struggle was convincing but not breath taking, but Douglas is one hell of a gray guy. You may think that I'm misogynistic but I didn't find the female lead too intriguing, maybe was because of the way this kind of roles were written and played at the time. Or the difference in perception nowadays: because a woman could be in the center of the plot today, but less probable back then.
Oh! and Cox guy has the same style as in Scrubs, just a different outfit. 
Technically it all came out well, but far from Apocalypse Now.
For a film almost as old as I am, things turn out positive.









 Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

I really pity that girl who lived as a decorator because I found her taste disturbing at least; I think that a slight caricaturisation was in mind.
Films like this, depicting everyday lives, point out the evolution of the technology that surrounds us; the mobile phones looked more than odd.
 

Gradina cu maracini

Sunt momente cand nu te mai poti abtine si simti nevoia sa iti exprimi indignarea. Acesta este unul dintre ele.

Niste prieteni vor veni intr-o scurta vizita in Romania, si printre altele vor sa vada Palatul Parlamentului; asa ca am inceput sa ma interesez in legatura cu modul si conditiile de vizitare. Evident, nu exista un site oficial al obiectivului turistic Palatul Parlamentului, desi este unul din locurile cele mai cunoscute de pe la noi; dar pe diferite pagini mai mult sau mai putin private se gasesc cat de cat informatii. Si aici vine gluma:
Iata diferitele tarife in functie de continutul vizitei (sursa):

• Vizita standard: 25 lei
• Vizita standard + subsol: 30 lei
• Vizita standard + terasa: 35 lei

Pana aici toate bune (preturi un pic cam mari dar locul merita), in plus lumea e pasionata mai mult de o terasa decat de o pivnita (desi depide ceea ce gazduieste pivnita respectiva); acum vine delicatesa :
Biletul cumulat Standard + subsol + terasa costa 45 lei, adica cu 5 lei mai mult decat suma suplimentelor individuale pentru terasa si subsol. In toate vizitele si excursiile pe care le-am facut in diferite tari care scot bani frumosi din turism, care, fara falsa modestie, sunt intr-un numar demn de luat in seama pentru a sustine premizele afirmatiei, un bilet cumulat era mai IEFTIN decat suma supliementelor; ei bine la noi, nu ca nu e egal cu respectiva suma, ci e mai scump.
Adaugand la asta faptul ca in calitatea sa de capitala europeana, Bucurestiul nu dispune de un ghiseu, fie el si cat un chiosc de bilete care sa aiba rolul de Oficiu de Turism si de unde sa poti primi diferite informatii, sau ca orice deplasare, pana la fosta Capitala a Culturii, spre exemplu, se desfasoara in timp record...de negativitate, toata povestea cu caricatura aia de frunza e mai mult decat o gluma proasta.
Nu de alta dar adevaratul brend de tara (eroare intentionata) tot aterizeaza la Baneasa cu curse charter de vreo cateva saptamani.

Cluelessness

There are certain surrounding phenomena that occur permanently but for which I fail to find an explanation. They just happen, like Murphy's Laws.

One of them is related to cords, like earphones, chargers etc. I guess you all noticed that no matter how or where you place them, I mean, neatly put in a corner of a drawer or just thrown on the table, when you'd want to reuse them after, let's say, 8 h later, they'd be all tangled-up. In my opinion there should be a public grant for the research on the wire morphing that could clarify this capacity of an apparently inanimate object to mix itself up.

The other one would involve time and its ability to dilate and contract depending on the activity or the lack of one. Actually, when you're doing something is quite normal not to see the time go by, but there are other situations that lack logic. Like, when you get bored and try to make the hours go by, but no matter what you do, even developing a new quantum mechanics theory, the clock will always show that only 2 minutes have passed.
There is also the opposite, and that happens to me a lot: sitting purposeless and doing infinitesimal stuff, and realizing after a quick glance at the clock that half a day just vanished. This, mixed up with the 'tonight I'm going to bed early' saying is a perfect self-fueling match-up.

If you have some personal thoughts or other experience that are beyond human reason please share.

Update: found a new one, that's generally true in my case even though there're many of you who would disagree. It's about getting up a couple of minutes before the alarm goes off, but on out-of-routine occasions. In general, one gets used to a schedule and thus the body is able to predict the getting-up hour; but when you have wake up a 6h30 on a Sunday morning to catch a train , things seem to get more difficult. Still, you are surprised to open your eyes and notice that it is 6h27. I guess there's some kind of latent adrenaline rush that bumps you out of bed at the exact moment, but I have no really idea about how that happens. 

A different kind of symphony

To keep last week's trend, this Wednesday will be a music dedicated one also.
This time I'll briefly talk about the new Apocalyptica album 7th Symphony, which came out two days ago.

Sincerely, I liked it. It is clear that they've evolved from the group that played Metallica songs on cellos and that the drums, added a while back, complete their surprising and wicked sound.
I prefer mostly the pure instrumental stuff, the voiced pieces being a bit less impressive, getting close to any other alternative band. But this is a general pattern with all the albums; still there were some exceptions over the years.
For those interested, there's even a touch of death metal in it with the lead of Gojira on one of the songs. (hope I didn't mess up the genres because the guttural singing is not my thing)
So if you enjoy metal on cellos give it a try, it won't hurt.

Magic = Science?...Special Effects' Science!

Acting: 3.5/5
Story: 3/5
Perception: 4/5
Rating: 3.5/5 (with some advantage upon Prince of Persia)



The new Disney/Bruckheimer The Sorcerer's Apprentice is like any other Disney, but on SFX steroids.
The story is quite linear, but with one or two didn't expect that moments. It's mainly about a physics nerd who is meant to be a great sorcerer, but first of all he'll need to learn to use his magic. This is where Cage comes up, him being his master. The purpose of all this is to stop another sorcerer to free a witch from a nesting doll, thus allowing her to cast a super-spell and rule the world.
The actors did their job decently, the main character masters his uncoordinated nerdiness without looking lame. Even Cage is likable, with his know-it-all teacher like mild arrogance. And Molina is simply genuine. I was disappointed by the girl, who was nearly void, lacking charisma; Gemma got to me ;)...I can't tell if she's worse that Megan Fox, but I must admit that I can't be 100% objective.
This brings us to the fun part: the effects. Like I said this movie is basically on steroids and there are some really awesome stuff, and some funny ones also. I can't say more and thus spoil the fun.
What I also liked is the physics/science - magic parallel, and some of the explanations and facts generated from this. You don't need spirits and other stuff like that to do magic; magicians are one sort of special people, and so are scientists. Let's not forget that many discoveries and inventions were and still are considered and, even blamed to be, magic.
All in all, a 110 min enjoyable story wrapped in a thick special effects layer. If you like magic and don't mind the Disney touch on a movie you should check it out in a theater. There's a short hint to a possible sequel after the credits, but if you're in a hurry it doesn't worth the trouble.

Almost unrelated fact:
this is a PG rated movie, well...when in a theater, as most people know, there are trailers before the movie, and the persons in charge of this decided that the best choice in this case would be a PG-13 (Salt), that was like a walk in the park comparated to the 2 R-rated movies (Piranha 3D, and the lame-looking Youth in Revolt - a totally prefer Baruchel over Cera, he was borderline OK in Juno and Superbad but he never grew up)












 Stuff - Spoiler Alert!!!

The Cleaning Scene was cool - borrowed from Fantasia as I heard; and the big time magic tricks, like the car chase and the inanimate animals reanimation, were bad-ass.
Getting back to the girl: when he explained the whole situation to her, she didn't panic nor told him to go and get treated, she just went along like a sheep, not to mention the climbing up a tower to deflect an antenna which transmitted something that she couldn't see.
If you were wondering...a Tesla coil could really do those kinds of lightning bolts, the problem is: a kid would never have the means and permits to build such stuff. But I couldn't be more happier to see that his won through science, even though I saw it coming ;)
A good thing related to the story is the fact that the accomplishment of the main character is not 100% generated by love but more by a boost in self-esteem, which is more likely to be the true human nature.
Also, what is to learn from this is that good guys have friends, bad guys have people who can still be useful
Last but not least (for Persephone' sake), Monica Bellucci is getting older.

Home Sweet Home

Reading one of Rucsy's posts reminded me of something that it wanted to talk about: the idea of 'home'.

Once, when returning from one of my field trips, and as the train got closer and closer to Lyon I told myself: 'Almost home...' then I realized that the saying 'Where I lay my self is Home' kinda suits me (See that rock that's my pillow! - geek joke)
So after a deeper analysis it got to me...home is where I live long enough so that the any occurring external stay would seem relatively short. For example, a place where I lived 6 months is considered home compared to a couple of weeks round-trip out and back in that place; this could even extend to a one day trip during a week long stay. For instance, and this is a bit sad, I often recall more of a I'm home feeling coming back to, let's say, Strasbourg after a 2 weeks holiday at my True Home.
In this case I would say that I have no home, since I don't associate the universally generated feeling for Home with a particular place or surroundings. Or, more poetically, the whole Planet is my Home, which might be actually true...even though there are rooms that I prefer to others. 
I guess that in my mind the notion of home is related to routine, to the ordinary everyday life, once again time-relative. And it would seem that it has nothing to do with a specific environment or certain people (parents most likely). Because I do get the fuzzy felling when I'm about to see close family and old friends but it is not dictated by geographical coordinates.
In short, Home = spot where I currently live and hold an activity, more of a HQ.
So, am I a mechanical nutcase that doesn't get what really matters out there?...your turn, now: Where's or What's your Home?

Hollywood pure action with a fun touch - No brains attached

During my last trip, I had plenty of train time that needed to be spent, so aside from the napping and the horizon gazing, I also watched some stuff. First I started with Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, and after 40 minutes I got really bored and gave up. So if you've seen the movie and think that it is worth watching 'till the end let me know.
The movie I watched instead was no great cinematographic achievement but kept me from falling asleep. So here it is: The Losers.

 Since I've been asked to give a more detailed rating system I will do my best and comply.

Acting: 3/5
Story: 2.5/5
Perception (video, audio, SFX and stuff): 3.5/5
Total Rating: 3/5
 
The story is comics-inspired: a group of special forces, The Losers, who are basically the last resort of the American Army, is...let's say...double crossed and so, they find themselves a helicopter ride away from death. Now, they have to get passage to the States and also get revenge, clear their names, so on and so forth. Their opportunity comes in a not-so-bad form of the former a shorter, less blue, more human  Na'vi feminine lead. And afterwards there's military/black-ops stuff going around with some inevitable complications.
The actors are far from playing their carrier roles, and moreover some of them aren't that convincing. I mean the Sniper-guy...I get it: he's not the talkative type, but he lacks credibility in being a bad-ass; he looks more like someone who's playin' it cool but who's got no lines. The boss is another one: he tries to play it tough like Hugh Jackman, but he's more of a...as we would say it in Romanian... 'Hugh Jackman with chickenpox...'
The others were OK, with special credit to the Human torch and The Pouch (for cracking the atmosphere up) and to The Bad Guy, even if he's more than exaggerated.
The dynamics is enjoyable, the movie doesn't loose momentum, which is what kept me going. And there are some good fun parts. On top of that, the explosions, gun fights and all as a Hollywood trademark don't disappoint, some of them being really awesome, but the comic book influence takes over and sometimes the characters gain too much superpowers (dodging bullets, pinpoint shooting...).
There's also some romance lost in between bullets, but it's only useful to spark up the action, no real chemistry in my opinion; Jake and Gemma did a lot better.
For me, this movie doesn't match two Burn Notice episodes in a row, but did just fine in the given conditions. One question still stands: why are they called The Losers?









Personal observations - Spoiler Alert!!!

The whole rocket launcher scene is huge, but soooo implausible, how come that the bad guys never-ever react?!...3 bullets and would have been over...All hail Deus Ex Machina!!!

Pouch quote: "I'm the black MacGyver! BlaGyver!"
I don't know if the expected gains were reached, but I'm guessing that a sequel might be in sight
At some point, I find that the Boss vs. Traitor combat started to get too far-fetched: End it off already! and when it did a motorcycle flew into an airplane, so it was quite worth the wait...

Iron...Cat-Lady

On Aug 16th, the new Iron Maiden album was shot into space: The Final Frontier

Yesterday, I got my hands on a copy...actually my ears, and unfortunately I wasn't quite thrilled of what I heard. I know that it's been a while that people say that Maiden serve the same dish passed through a different blender, but the last one had been quite OK in my book. This time on the other hand, it's just not enough. I mean even for my unprofessional hammer, anvil and stirrup the new album sounds like A Matter of Life and Death all-round, which is claimed to be a mesh of other stuff from before. It's more than the same dish, it has even been chewed up for you.
The album follows the same 10 track pattern, last one being some sort of preachy moral piece which start with a soft intro. 
The skill is still there, no doubt about it, but there's no more soul left, not to mention the inspiration. All that remains are some stretched-out tracks that are only impressive thanks to the technique.
I'll listen to a good Piece of Mind or even Fear of the Dark, to wash out the disappointment.