2012: TV series

It's the first year I do this, but looking back at 2012 I spent far more time watching series compared to previous years.


Game of Thrones - season 1
Game of Thrones, man. What can I say about it? It's really one of the best things that's ever been on TV. Haven't read the books (yet - ordered the whole set!) but I find it hard to believe they're even more awesome than the series. And I've only seen season 1. Bought it on blu-ray, and it's great, well worth the money. The reason why I haven't seen season 2 yet is due to that, in part - it's not been on tv over here yet, and the blu-ray quality spoiled me, so I don't want to see it in shitty quality on my laptop.
Anyway, season 1 had quite a few awesome scenes - loved Viserys getting his golden crown for instance. I actually really enjoyed everything related to Daenerys and Khal Drogo - sad how it ended really. Sad how some great characters (nooo Boromir! hehe) are already out.  On the whole, I think Arya and Tyrion are my favourite characters, obviously for very different reasons. And in a way, I even like Jaime "childpusher" Lannister hehe.

Oh and Varys The Eunuch is great as well. And Lord Baelish. Nice couple :)
Anyway, love the entire world and all the houses and everything. In a way it's sad I discovered this series relatively early - if they already released 5 or 6 seasons it would be fun to do a marathon viewing.

The Walking Dead - season 1 and 2

Talking about marathon viewings: it took me a week to see season 1 (which has 6 episodes). I watched season 2 in three days, and one day I saw 5 eps. So yeah, I rather liked it. It's not without its flaws, I felt like some things dragged on for way too long (like a certain someone being dangerously crazy), but I can't complain as the gruesome zombie death to stupid humans arguing ratio is fairly okay. It could always be better, but I won't complain too much. I must say I'm pretty indifferent to most of the characters, but I love Glenn (please don't tell me he'll die any time soon!) and Daryl (he's the Sawyer of this series hehe). Not going to spoil things, but Dale and Shane are pretty much yin and yang, so the end of season 2 makes sense in a way.
To be honest I am getting somewhat of a Lost feeling from this: there are a lot of unanswered questions, there are some similar characters, and everyone dies :)

Mad Men - season 1 - 4
Took me a looong time to get through this, and I still wonder why I saw four full seasons. Nothing ever happens! Well, there was the infamous lanwnmower incident in the season 3 episode "Guy walks into an advertising agency":

Yeah, that was frakking awesome. Hahaha they all got little bits of foot in their mouth hahahaha. You can just watch that gif over and over again.
Oh, and this is how I reviewed the series on twitter: "Don is a Dick (in more ways than one), Betty is a childish, spiteful bitch and Joan's tits are too big." I still stand by that; it's quite hard to find a likeable character in this show (maybe understandable considering it's about marketing people!). I liked Betty at first but after the first season she really became an annoying, selfish bitch, and she honestly doesn't seem to have a clue on how to raise children. Funny how she objects to Don's adventures, but she was already in the arms of another guy before divorcing Don. Hypocrite much? Saying all this, I obviously love her, I need someone to be annoyed with in a series or I get bored hehe.
Oh yeah, the only character I actually like is Kinsey - gotta love his beard in season 2 and 3. I might have a little mancrush on him just because of that beard really. Also, seeing his reaction above...that's not a very straight way to react is it? So I was pretty sad to not see him in season 4, which was pretty much the worst season I'd say.

Side note: I really love the early 60s setting and all the racism, sexism, etc. I think Republicans nowadays still have that same mindset. Carter Pewterschmidt from Family Guy would fit in this series as well hehe.

Spartacus: Blood and Vengeance (and Vengeance)
Have a bit of a weird history with this series - saw the first 4 or 5 episodes last year, but only saw the rest of the first season when it was on tv again. The second half is really so, SO good. The first half was really some random fights and shit, second half has lots of political intrigue and really even rivals that Rome series in sheer awesomeness. Also, Batiatus is one of the best characters ever. He's a slimey little worm but he grows on you. And the stuff that comes out of his mouth...oh boy. Made me laugh so much whenever he used foul language in a creative way. A small selection:

"By Jupiter's cock!"
"And what, I wonder, does good Solonius receive for convincing me to spread cheeks and accept deeper ramming?"

"You council to suck the cock that pissed on me!"

"That man has fingers in all the proper assholes. He wiggles them, and every one of them shits gold."

"Once again the gods spread the cheeks to ram cock in fucking ass!"

"Should he have issue he can reason to my cock!"

"At last the gods remove cock from fucking ass!"

"If not for yourself, do it for coin and cunt!"

"Juno's cunt and Pluto's asshole!"

We can always put some of that in a meme:

John Hannah is so boss hahaha. 

Anyway, I'm halfway through Vengeance (season 2) and it's just not the same without him. It's not completely boring (mostly thanks to Xena Lucretia and Ilythia). I should've probably watched the "Gods of the Arena" thing first, also because it's more about Batiatus. The new Spartacus (RIP Andy Whitfield) is also...hmm. Not that I don't like him, but he looks younger and smaller than Andy. I mean, he's not bad on his own, but...you know.



Okay, that's all I can think off for now.

2012: cinema visits

I didn't go to the cinema much at all this year, not really sure why. I guess when a ticket costs almost as much as the DVD/Bluray that comes out 6 months later, it's easier to skip a few. The death of my small local cinema plays a part in it as well I guess, although I think I only went there twice this year, and I stopped going to their alternative movie nights a few years ago. I'm part of the problem! I think it's an interesting debate: what is causing the death of small-scale cinemas? The big, expensive cinemas with their 3D and other crap, or how cheap DVDs are nowadays, and Blu-ray basically offering a better experience (with the proper TV) than in the cinema? Easy answer is that it's all little bit of everything of course. Anyway, I'm going to miss going to the cinema for €6 (nowadays it's around €10-12 in the big cinema), and especially their "movie day" in July where they showed recent movies for €2,5. Sadness :(

Anyway, moving on, the actual reviews!


The Hobbit
I enjoyed it. I didn't love it. Do you really want to know why? For me it had two main problems: the party hanging off things, falling down things, and just when things seem really really really bad... they get rescued!! Like, 10 times throughout the movie. Which leads me to major problem number 2: no tension at all. Two movies to go, and you've seen LOTR so you know Bilbo and Gandalf won't die. The dwarves, well, sure some of them might die, but it's not like that's the end of the world is it? There is danger in pretty much every step they take, but you know they're going to get out of it somehow. I suppose that's number 3: the second part has one action scene after another, but it's all pointless in the end.
I also feel like it's a movie with two souls, so to speak: in part Peter Jackson wants to recreate the simpleness of the book, but then he also wants to inject more epicness into it... and what you get is a mix of both that really felt weird to me. Personally I'm VERY interested in Middle-Earth and its history, and I would love a movie (or a mini-series) set in the first and second ages with guys like Glorfindel and Elrond kicking all sorts of ass - but all that just doesn't really add anything to this movie.
Anyway, let's talk about the good things: the scene with Gollum was awesome, I like Bilbo a lot more than Frodo (partly because of the acting, partly because we never really got to know Frodo's personality in LOTR did we?), and Gandalf...Ian McKellen is such a good actor. He doesn't even have to speak, you can really read things from his face.

Skyfall
Best Bond Ever!!!! Sort of. It's very much The Dark Bond Rises hehe, but really, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Good flow, good action scenes, loved the new Q, loved the Scotland scenes, loved the Shanghai and Macau scenes, loved Javier Bardem as the "is he gay or just crazy" villain...was very sad at the end - you should know that Goldeneye was the first Bond movie I've seen in the cinema (and I still love it, I consider it one of the best "classic" Bonds), so I have a certain attachment to certain...people. I am looking forward to the next Bond, whatever it will be like, but as far as I'm concerned they can now return to underground/under sea/inside of a vulcano lairs, and a bit more humour/sillyness in it.
Saw it again this week actually - I was surprised how much I still loved it. Love the underlying themes as well - not that they're very subtle, but still. I would say it's my favourite movie this year.

The Dark Knight Rises
It's my favourite one in the trilogy. Stop laughing!! First of all, it has the best villian. Rhas-al Gul's plan failed. The Joker just played around a bit - and he sort of won, but didn't live to see it. But Bane, he broke Batman, and he broke Gotham, something the other two tried but failed at.
Yes, there isn't much Batman in this, but The Dark Knight was really a Joker movie, so that complaint doesn't hold. I thought the general flow was the best in the three as well: TDK seemed very random at points, and Batman Begins was basically 2 movies in one. This had a proper beginning, middle and end.

Ted
I liked it, it had some good, or so bad-it's-good jokes, but the actual story was pretty boring and cliché. I mean, when it's on tv I'll watch it again and laugh, but as a movie it's really not that good. I generally don't like these relationship comedies, and despite being a lot "dirtier" than average, it still hasn't changed my mind.

Prometheus
Haters gonna hate. Apart from the last 10 minutes or so, I loved it. I mean, how frakking good is Michael Fassbender in this? Best creepy gay robot ever. Yes, the story and the way events play out is familiar, characters are pretty dumb, there's the awkward abortion scene, and a lot of other things I really didn't mind that much. I'm aware of its flaws, but it's greater than the sum of its parts. Or something like that. It reminded me of Sunshine mostly - great movie, apart from the last act. Oh, and probably also helps that I didn't get caught up in the hype.
It's also a beautiful movie, art-wise and sound-wise as well, I really love their jumpsuits and other little things you generally only notice on a second viewing. Bought it on blu-ray and don't regret it at all. I'd say my biggest gripe is that story wise, it's obviously the first part of a series, as there are far too many questions unanswered - and I honestly fear the answers will be stupid. It's like Lost all over again.

Snow-White and the Huntsmen
I was bored and wanted to go the cinema. This was the only thing they played that was vaguely interesting. I honestly don't remember much from it...um...oh, I enjoyed Charlize Theron's role and I wish she had more scenes. Sometimes it's more fun to root for the bad guy I think, and this was one of those movies.

The Avengers
Of course I loved this, how could anyone not like this? I can't even pick my favourite part... the bromance between Banner and Stark? The Iron Man/Thor fight? Everything Hulk? To be fair, it has some flaws as well, when I first saw it I felt like 90% of the movie is spent on the airship thing. I do hope the sequel has some more variety in the settings, or at least spend more time in an actually interesting setting. And as much as like Tom Hiddleston as a villain (that evil smirk!), we already had him in that role once didn't we? Still, very entertaining and the best of the Marvel movies.

This must be the place
Sean Penn is awesome as a retired Robert Smith. I loved both the down-to-earth-ness and the weirdness/randomness in this. It's hard to explain, but, yeah. Not that it's a must-see or anything, but I enjoyed it. The story and flow is a bit weird - it's a road movie of sorts, but then not really. It's a "special" one hehe.


Right, that's all I have to say.

Halloween special: forgotten horror films

Hello children!
It's Halloween soon, which traditionally means there will be lots of horror films on tv. Now, I want to offer you some alternatives to Saw 28 and Paranormal Activity 13. Most of the films I mention are fairly old and a little 'different' - read on to see what I mean by that. If you click the title it will link you to the IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) page of that film, which has lots of info on everything (the trivia section especially is my favourite part of the site). I'll be lazy and won't give a synopsis of the film, I'll just shortly talk about why I like it.

If I can get even just one of you to rent one or netflix or whatever it is you kids do to see a film nowadays, then I'll consider this a big success. If not, thanks for reading I guess. Jerk. 

The Birds (1963)

I saw it again recently, maybe my third or fourth time, and I still love it. It has a slow start but overall it's very interesting...it's like a "what if?" scenario, without worrying about the why and how. It has a few great scenes, like the talk with the ornithologist in the café, the school attack and the very last scene - there's something very apocalyptic about the end of the film. 

It's one of my favourite Hitchcock films (and for other fans: my favourite is Rear Window, what's yours?), also one of the first I saw by him. Of course the film is really really old and the effects look so fake, kids nowadays would probably consider it a comedy! But I say it has its charm. Even if you've already seen it, definitely worth watching again. 

Rosemary's Baby (1966)

Yes it's almost 50 years old and horribly slow, and 'nothing happens', and it's boring compared to modern horror films. Yes. But, that atmosphere of isolation, paranoia, depression, occultism... it's so good. It's also one of those films that remains ambiguous - was Rosemary just hallucinating and paranoid about things, or were there really very strange things going on? I guess it's only a horror film if you believe the latter, otherwise it's more a psychological drama. In any case, it's a film on a lot of "best horror films ever" lists. I say it's worthy of the hype and praise my fellow weirdos bestow on it.  

Don't Look Now (1973)

Together with The Wicker Man, quite possibly my favourite horror film ever. It's the reason why I don't think I'll ever go to Venice again heh. Like a lot of films on this list, the horror isn't some terrible monster or serial killer (well...), but one's own imagination and paranoia. There's a lot of symbolism and forewarnings - you know it will end badly in some way or another... The atmosphere, an important part of any film regardless of genre in my opinion, is something you only come across in 70s films for some reason. Like most of the films of this list, an acquired taste, seems like quite a few people don't 'get it'. I get it.
Random fact: Time Out magazine actually had it on number 1 in a "best British films ever" list. If I made a list like that, it would be in my top 5, but number 1 would be Trainspotting or Get Carter I think. 

The Wicker Man (1973)

Like I said above, this is easily one of my favourite horror films ever. You can argue about the fact if it's a horror film or not - I admit it's really more of a mystery drama of sorts, but the atmosphere (and outcome) is definitely that of a horror film. Just like Don't look now it's more creepy and unsettling rather than truly terrifying, and again like Don't look now it has a "curiousity killed the cat" theme - which I like in practically every film I see. The film is just so creepy and alienating, even though the main character is a conservative jerk you still sympathise with him because it feels like he's entered an entirely different world, with rules he can't even begin to understand. The first scene with Summerisle - including the virgins jumping over a fire to get pregnant - is one of the highlights in that regard. 

(Oh, and I did see the remake with Nic Cage - not as awful as people told me, but still very much a mess of a movie. Avoid.)

Random fact: Both Willow (Britt Ekland) and Summerisle (Christopher Lee) went on to play in a Bond film the year after this: The Man with the Golden Gun.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Yes, I'm cheating, it's not really a horror film BUT it has horror in the name so it counts hehe. And it's one of my favourite films ever. Lost count how many times I've seen it, and a few years ago I bought the soundtrack and I still sing along to it regularly while having a shower. Obviously 'Touch-a touch-a touch me' is one of my favourite songs (it's about finding out how great and addicting sex and sensuality can be). I also do a good Frank impression when singing Sweet transvestite :D But don't tell anyone! >:(

Anyway, it does have some horror elements, and it has a pretty gruesome scene involving Meat Loaf (oh! the irony of what happens to him hahaha), and besides, the entire film is stuff of nightmares for conservative people!! Though I find the ending very depressing - I always tell a friend of mine (who also loves the film) that to me the story ends in the swimming pool...they all make love to each other for all eternity, the end :)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

This is actually the film that inspired me to do this update, I saw it again a couple of days ago, wondering if I still loved it as much as I did when I first saw it many many years ago. And yep. It's still one of my favourite horror films. The whole paranoid atmosphere throughout the film is incredible, very oppressive, and the ending is basically the only logical conclusion. If you are fighting against such an overwhelming force, isn't it better to just give up? Give in? It's easier than to fight, right? It's not so bad, you don't have to fight. Give in. Obey. (also see They Live later in this entry)

Random fact: it has Leonard Nimoy (Spock!) as a psychologist.

Alien (1979)

The "odd duck" on my list perhaps, together with The Shining, as I'm sure everyone has heard of this and most fans of scifi films will have certainly seen this at some point. Why do I still mention it? Well, I actually think it's an underrated film. When talking about the Alien(s) film series, everyone focuses on Aliens, which is sort of like the younger, louder and more in-your-face brother compared to Alien which is more desolate and claustrophobic...and really far more terrifying. Alien doesn't have any soldiers with fancy guns, just a towing crew terrified by this one little alien... and of course they get picked off one by one, as has been aped by a thousand scifi/horror films by now. And the last 15 minutes or so are some of the most intense and terrifying moments in cinema history. 

So, do yourself a favour and see it again. Yes it's slow, but the build up is so good. Really worth seeing again. (though I'm one of the few people who seemed to quite like Prometheus (mostly because of 'David' though), so maybe you shouldn't trust my opinion!)

The Shining (1980)

Yes you all know this one, and probably seen it before, but tell me: do you still remember what the title refers to? Do you still know who talks about the shining, and to whom? Actually, do you remember anything else other than the "here's Johnny!" scene? 

For shame!! This is a brilliant (and brilliantly shot) film. Jack Nicholson gets the spotlight almost too much; he's both the best and worst thing about this film (let's be honest, Jack already looks naturally crazy, so playing a person that slowly goes insane isn't a big surprise - his overacting practically turns this into a comedy). 

Kubrick is an artist, the cinematography here is stunning. And I know Stephen King should get the credit for the story, but Kubrick deserves a lot of credit for creating such a terrifying atmosphere through audio and video - while still leaving certain things up to the imagination. 

They Live (1988)

Another 'alien invasion' film somewhat similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers (ie alien invaders pretend to be humans), but this one is really somewhat of a black comedy as well. I quite like the underlying message, the main character finds, thanks to his special sunglasses, all sorts of hidden messages on tv and on billboards and stuff, all saying things like "obey", "no imagination", "consume". It's still quite relevant I think, you can watch a 1000 tv channels all filled with crap that doesn't involve any creativity on your part, you just sit back and watch. They do the thinking for you. You obey, conform and consume. That's what the government wants you to do, man!! They don't want any creativity or rebellious thoughts!! 

(...I'm half joking but I'm also half serious in this, so if this is my last ever blog post, the aliens got me!!!!)

Random fact: the main character is played by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, a famous wrestler. 

In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

Like 'They Live' also a John Carpenter film. And also not really a masterpiece, but very much worth watching in my opinion. Sam Neill is great in this. The story and atmosphere is very Lovecraftian, and with Lovecraft being my favourite horror writer it's hard not to enjoy this. I think madness in itself is the real horror: your imagination is your own worst enemy. As a viewer you can make up your own mind again: is he crazy or is everything really happening? Really love the ending, and I'm almost tempted to spoil it here... oh what the heck, I know you won't watch it anyway: the world is overrun by demons, anarchy everywhere, the main character ends up in the cinema, and sees... "In the Mouth of Madness", starring himself, and showing what's happened in this very film so far, exactly like you've seen it. He laughs, and laughs, and laughs. The end.
I mean, It's just...one of the best endings ever really. 

The Descent (2004)

Well, I already mentioned 10 films which is more than enough really, but I figured I should mention at least one recent entry. The Descent is worthy of being on this list because it's terrifying. If you're even the least bit claustrophobic, you'll hate this film. Not because it's bad (well, opinions vary) but because it does such a good job of making you feel like you're in those caves. And you can't get out. And you're chased by bloodthirsty monsters. You're fucked. 

Someone (maybe it was even me?) once called this "Alien in a cave", and it's very very true. It has that same feeling of dealing with an overwhelming force you can't possibly win against - the only option is escape, but the environment is against you. 

Random fact: in the UK, this has a bad ending. In the US, it has a happy (sort of) ending. Bad ending is better of course, but the sequel (oh no!) departs from the happy ending. The sequel isn't that bad by the way,  just more of the same. 

Actually, I have quite a few more to mention: Let the right one in, for example, one of my favourite films ever, but doesn't really fit in with the others as it's more a coming of age film about bullying with some horror elements. I honestly can't express in words how much I love it - it's almost like the dark evil twin of Amélie hehe. El Orfanato is also worth mentioning as a good recent (and more traditional) horror film. I should probably also mention Pan's Labyrinth, more of a fantasy drama but definitely not something you want to show your kids. It also has that ambiguity I love so much (I say it was all in her head! Yes, I'm a pessimist). Lastly I should mention Jacob's Ladder, mostly psychological horror (which I love) with a lot of symbolism and 'read between the lines' stuff... but that and the weird structure/flow of the film works against it in a way (but it is rewarding if you 'get' it). Oh, one more then, The Thing, another John Carpenter directed film, with desolation, isolation and paranoia as key words. A classic among horror fans - from me it gets a solid 8/10. 

Anyway, I've done enough talking I think. Feel free to recommend me some stuff, I think by now you'll have an idea of what kind of films I like. I'm especially looking for some non UK/US ones, and don't be afraid to recommend some 40's, 50's and 60's films!

I have to post this every summer

Blanche - Another lost summer

I vowed this wouldn't be
another lost summer
I've looked around but I can't see
that old time summer

it's still hot but I look at what I've got
and all I feel is number
I guess it's too late to plant those seeds
it's not worth it to pull the weeds
they'll just die; like I'm doing inside

my brother and I were the best of friends
more than just brothers but now I pretend

is it a crutch? that I expect so much?
I promised myself I'd be strong this year
but here I am again filled with summer tears
and the fish ain't biting and I'm through fighting
the same situation the same frustrations
'cause summers almost gone
the love I planned to sing about never came along
and I can't figure out where I belong
but ever year I sing the same old song
where's that old time summer?
it's another lost summer
another lost summer

Pukkelpop 2012 review

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go one day (Thursday - easily the best day for me) or the whole three days, but I decided to go the full three days after all. Was it worth it? Read on!

Wimbledon 2012 thoughts

Since I was on holiday in France when Wimbledon was on, and they don't care much for tennis if it's not Roland Garros, I missed about 95% of Wimbledon. I recorded "Today at Wimbledon" on BBC2 and play from some random days, and finally got through all the tennis footage I could watch today. So, here are some thoughts on what I saw, keeping in mind I hardly saw everything.

• Berdych - Gulbis on Center Court for whatever reason. And Gulbis actually winning. Almost like the whole thing was, you know, scripted. Gulbis post-match interview was pretty great though. 

• Nadal going out early was obviously a big shock. Well, the result, but if you saw the match, you couldn't help but admire Rosol. He was playing with no fear, refused to be intimidated by Nadal's tactics (including   this little bump), and just looked like a supercharged Söderling or Berdych. I was following the livescores and I was sure Nadal would win in 4 if not 5, so yeah, that was quite a shock.

• Federer - Benneteau, a day after Nadal - Rosol. Federer was 2 points away from an early exit in that 4th set tie break. Just to put things in perspective. 

• Clijsters losing to Kerber. Not that big of an upset, but the scoreline (6-1, 6-1) was pretty harsh. Last Wimbledon for Kim as well. 

• Federer - Malisse. I actually saw this match (streaming on my laptop), and I was very very worried when Federer asked for a medical time-out. Malisse, a big Federer fan, was upset too, so upset he lost the match :) 

• Murray - Ferrer. Murray very close to being 2 sets down at one point. Just to put things in perspective.
  Related to that: Murray - Tsonga. Both matches were similar in the way Andy reacted afterwards: huge  relief, a sense of gratitude, and pointing up, looking up, and even talking to the sky. Would love to know what was going on in his mind at that time. 

• Federer - Djokovic. Djokovic certainly wasn't 100% that day, but Federer had a focus (and first serve) I didn't see in his recent slam semifinals. Did the closed roof help? I think it helped Federer to focus on his own game, but I don't think it was a disadvantage to Djokovic in any way. Federer was just better that day, and that's all that matters in the end. From what I saw, the match wasn't as good as last year's Roland Garros semifinal, but the third set was great. 

• Federer - Murray. It was so good to see Murray focused and aggressive. Before the match, I was torn on who would win this, the way Murray played in his previous 2 matches he really could win against Federer. After the first set, I was 100% convinced he could win this. But, the momentum changed. The first time with Federer basically breaking Murray out of nowhere at the end of the second set.  Then the rain break/closing of the roof, did that help Federer again? Same answer as with the Djokovic match. I think the most important momentum swing in this match was that 20 minute game, in which Federer eventually broke Murray to get ahead 4-2. Murray needed a few games to recover from that, and by that time he was already a break behind in the fourth set. Still, it was a great match, easily the best final for me in some years, I'd even say the best since Federer-Roddick in 2009 (and no, I'm not just saying that as a Federer fan, but as a fan of fast, aggressive tennis and drama). 

• Murray's runner-up speech. Yes, like a lot of people in the audience, I got something in my eye. What can I say? I don't feel sorry for him at all, I'm happy he's actually made it a great match, it was the best slam final he played. That he came up short might be heartbreaking now, but just like Federer I'm sure he'll win (at least!) one eventually. He can beat Nadal, he can beat Federer, and if Djokovic plays like he did in the semis now he could beat him too. It will happen, I'm sure of it.
  I also can't help but notice most of the people downplaying Murray are Brits who only ever watch tennis when Murray's playing. Murray might have not won a slam, but he's up against three of the best guys who have ever played this sport. I say he's doing pretty damn well. And this final proved that, thanks to Ivan Lendl's help, he really is improving, both mentally and game-wise (more aggressive). He really deserves more respect from his countrymen. 

• I tweeted this on the 22nd of June: "hoping for a Federer-Murray final, but that won't happen of course". Ha! Fool! 

I'll leave you with just one picture. 

This was Wimbledon 2012.

movie reviews: first half 2012

Time for another round of movie reviews!!! 3 cinema releases, then some stuff I saw on tv or whatever.

Prometheus
As far as I'm concerned, a flawed masterpiece. Loved the atmosphere, really, really loved Michael Fassbender, the first hour or so is one of the best experiences I had in the cinema in recent years. But then I quite like "slow" sci-fi movies based on a spaceship or abandoned planet or whatever (which reminds me, still need to see Moon).
Towards the end though, it falls apart a bit, and some of the 'mythology' in this makes little sense, and we'll have to wait for the true answers until the sequel, which kind of cheapens the experience I think. But even with that it's a very solid 8/10, almost 9, and I'll definitely want this when it comes out on blu-ray.

Avengers
You've all seen it by now I guess, so I don't have to tell you how good it is. And unlike Prometheus I can talk more in detail about it. So, obviously, the best thing about the film is the Stark-Banner bromance. Or any scene with Hulk in it. I mean, try to imagine this film without Banner/Hulk. It would be pretty boring wouldn't it?
I was also quite upset with some agent dying heh (but is he really dead????) What else...Thor/Iron Man fight was good. Loki's speech on why humans are naturally submissive made me lol (for reasons I won't admit here). The climax of the movie wasn't that great I thought - apart from some Hulk stuff - and it made me think of how useless Wolverine and Spider-man would be in this (yes, great one-on-one fighters, but they would be useless taking on an army). It would've been even better if the real enemy was Galactus, but stupid licensing issues kept that from happening.

Snow-white and the Huntsman
Kristen Stewart is a drowned rat, the Thor-dude is wasted in this role, and Charlize Theron...was quite acceptable . Some familiar faces as the dwarves. Otherwise, forgettable movie really. Well, it's on my mind because some things annoyed me. Like, there's absolutely no way Kirsten Scott will ever be hotter than Charlize Theron. It makes the whole premises of the story unbelievable. Stupid mirror!! I was actually half expecting the mirror to be the true evil in this, but they kept things simple and very stupid.

Australian Open 2012 review

Well, like I said, my predictions were wrong :)

I also have to admit I like the first week of a slam so much more than the second week, especially in the past couple of years, where there's a certain predictabilty, especially in finals and eventual winners of the tournament. The first week is more exciting because there's always going to be a (minor) upset (here: Nishikori over Tsonga), or a youngster/relatively unknown player going on a streak (here: Kukushkin, Tomic), or an "old" guy showing off (here: Hewitt). While the quality of tennis is generally better in the second week, I'd say the first week is more exciting if your love for tennis isn't just player-related.

Australian Open 2012 preview

Due to the time difference, the Australian Open is basically the open that happens while I sleep. So it's probably my least favourite of the four majors, but I know I'm going to spend some nights in front of the tv and only going to bed at 6AM.
Anyway... now for my analysis/predictions/nonsense.

THE MEN

first quarter:
Probably the easiest quarter for the 2 highest seeds. The only one here who could cause an upset is Raonic. A 4th round match against Djokovic is extremely likely. I expect a good match, but Djokovic is going to win eventually.
QF: Ferrer-Djokovic

second quarter:
A much trickier quarter. Murray-Harisson will probably be a good first match, but I still expect Murray to pull through in -at most- 4 sets. I'm also interested in what Nishikori will do here. Still, I don't expect any major surprises here.
QF: Murray-Tsonga

third quarter:
Interesting quarter with Dolgopolov and Del Potro. Verdasco-Tomic is an interesting first round match. I'm going with Tomic here. It's kind of hard to guess where Fish is mentally and physically, but I do expect him to be upset by Del Potro. I'm also expecting a Federer-Dolgopolov 4th round.
QF: Federer-Del Potro

fourth quarter:
This quarter has Baghdatis, Nalbandian and Dimitrov floating around. I'm honestly not expecting them to do any major damage.
QF: Nadal-Berdych

Semifinals:
Djokovic-Tsonga
Federer-Nadal
Tsonga instead of Murray? Yes. If Tsonga can play like he did at the end of last year, he can easily take on Murray - even if it takes him 5 sets. I expect Federer-Del Potro to be a 5-setter as well.

Final:
Tsonga-Nadal
Winner:
Nadal
Surprised? You shouldn't be. The more Nadal complains about "not being ready to win", the more he's actually going to win. It's his "worst" slam, although he did win 100% of the finals he played here!! (he only played one).
I suppose a Djokovic-Federer final (with Djokovic winning, of course) is far more likely, but I like to be surprised. Of course, being a Federer fan, I'd like him to win everything, but I'm not sure about his form right now.

THE WOMEN

first quarter:
Wozniacki, Clijsters, Li Na and Jankovic are in this quarter. Wozniacki will get either Safarova or Jankovic in the 4th round - could be interesting. I expect her to pull through though. I'm also not 100% if Clijsters is fit enough, I guess we'll see it in the first few rounds. Fourth round against Li Na is very likely.
QF: Clijsters-Wozniacki

second quarter:
Some interesting names here (Schiavone, Goerges, Penetta) but I still think the highest ranked players will be in the quarterfinal:
QF: Azerenka-Radwanska

third quarter:
Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kuznetsova, it's like we're in 2004 again! This quarter might have the most interesting matches in the first week. I'm also not sure how fit Serena is right now, but if she's fit enough, she'll get to the quarterfinal for sure.
QF: Williams-Sharapova

fourth quarter:
I don't see any surprises here.
QF: Kvitova-Stosur

SF:
Clijsters-Azerenka
Williams-Kvitova

F:
Clijsters-Kvitova
W: Kvitova
(well unless Kvitova loses in the first round, like she did at the US Open -_-)

Note: nothing ever happens the way I predict it, so if you want to bet on something, try the opposite of everything I said here.

2011: music

Personally, it's been another extremely quiet year on the music front, especially when it came to seeing some bands live. So I'll focus on the album reviews. And you'll get not one, not two, but three top 5's!!! Exciting, no?

2011: videogames

I'll do my top 10 starting with 1, because I know no-one will read to the end anyway. So I better start with the best stuff, right?

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I played this game for about 135 hours. Which is about 15 times more than an average game these days. So yeah, you could say I like it. I don't really know what to say about it, just play it and experience it for yourself. And if you're really in a hurry, just focus on the main quest, the deadric quests and the Dark Brotherhood quests. And visit all the main holds. And take a walk from Riften to Aivarstead, and from Helgen to Rorickstead. And... oh okay, I'll stop now.

2. Portal 2

I have very little to add to my review. In short: it's great. Play it if you haven't already.

3. Mortal Kombat

MORTAAAL KOMBAAAT!!! Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo... etc. I should've done a full review of this since there's plenty to talk about, but really, this is the easily the most complete fighting game ever. Even if the game just had the story mode, it would've still made my list. It's just so good. Online is quite nice as well. I even found a character I could dominate with (Sindel), I suddenly had 13 ranked wins in a row with her. Yes, I'm that awesome. Well, against beginner/intermediate players. Because of my ranking I suddenly started fighting the pros. I lost. A lot.

Anyway, if you loved Mortal Kombat 2 and 3, you really should buy this if you haven't already. I'd recommend this game even if you've never played a fighting game.

4) Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Another game I should've done a proper review of. I picked this up as a sort of in-between game (a few weeks before Skyrim came out), and I felt like playing a stealth/scifi game. I'm very glad I picked it up. It's far from a flawless experience; I had my fair share of frustration with the stealth gameplay, the boss fights are just very out of place, and it has some clumsy gameplay elements, but it's just...special, you know? I particularly loved the music and atmosphere in this game.

You can get the game pretty cheap nowadays, so I'd urge you to pick this up and experience it for yourself. It's not for everyone, but it's a damned good game.

5) Super Mario 3D Land

Together with Deus Ex, pretty much the surprise of the year. I wanted a white 3DS, so I had to pick up a bundle with this game. I disliked New Super Mario Bros, so I really had zero expectations for this one. In fact, I was even thinking of selling it unopened. But I decided to give it a try, and...wooaAAoow. It's possibly the best Mario game since...well I'm not really a fan of platformer games in general so I couldn't say. But, I'm really enjoying it. Yes, it's very easy (I entered world 8 with around 90 lives), but it's brilliant. The 3D is also great. Yes, it's still a gimmick, but it 'works' in this game.

6) Tropico 4

Okay, so it's more like Super Tropico 3 Turbo, with many re-used voice samples and graphics, but the new mini-objectives are a good addition, and why change things when they were great in the first place? There are some minor "downgrades" though: the new radio girl kind of sucks, and the humour is a bit hit-and-miss (mostly hit though).
I've only played the game for about 10 hours, and in that time I've only done 3 story missions and a (long) sandbox game. I'll definitely spend another 30 or 40 hours on this game - when I have the time...

7) Top Spin 4

A tennis game that doesn't play like a more colourful version of Pong (see: Virtua Tennis series)? GIMME. I loved Top Spin 3 but this is definitely the best tennis game of this hardware generation. Yes, it gets repetitive after a while, but so does every sports game. Or any videogame really. Plus, in career mode, Federer is pretty much always number 1 or 2, even in 2014 haha. Biased!

8) Dead Space 2

I didn't enjoy this as much than the first one, but it still has many memorable moments, and my impression is that it's also a longer game (which isn't necessary a good thing, but still). It tries to be bigger and better than the first game, but in doing that it also lost some of the charm, you know what you mean? It's like Alien vs. Aliens. Both are great, but the first one was more creepy and atmospheric, second one was more about the action and shooting and dudebro stuff. Also, as I said earlier this year, I like quiet protagonists. So again, first game > second game.

9) Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Curse Capcom for releasing an upgrade 8 months after this game. I still haven't bought Ultimate by the way. MvC3 isn't as bad as people tell you it is (I didn't have that many online problems), but Tatsunoko vs. Capcom is still my favourite vs. game. My Hulk/Wolverine/Dr. Doom team is pretty awesome. I actually have quite a few teams I'm pretty good with, but I always have Hulk in my team. HULK SMASH etc.

10) Child of Eden

I didn't enjoy it as much as Rez, and it really should've been a downloadable game rather than a retail one, but it's still pretty good. Very uplifting and colourful. I found it to be harder than Rez (I still can't combo to the beat effectively, which makes the achievements really difficult). I plan to go back in and try to master at least part of the game in the near future.

I still have a lot of 2011 games to play, so this is just a temporary list. Still need to go through Zelda: Skyward Sword (although, after 10 hours, I'm definitely not feeling the game), Bastion, From Dust, and a whole lot of pc games I bought on Steam. And then there's the games on everyone's list that I haven't played yet: Dark Souls, Batman: Arkham City, Saints Row the Third, Uncharted 3, Xenoblade... I have a lot of catching up to do. There are also some games you might expect on the list that just didn't make it. Like Gears of Wars 3: enjoyed it, but I thought it was inferior to GoW2, and ultimately not as good as the 10 games I mentioned above.

I'll try to do some more videogame reviews in 2012, but I'm not going to promise anything.

Tennis 2011 review & 2012 preview

What can I say about 2011 that hasn't already been said?

Nothing.

Except maybe that Nadal didn't have a bad year at all. Djokovic dominated him, sure. But he still won 4 tournaments and reached 10 finals (3 GS finals - won one). How anyone can call this a bad year... the mind boggles. Maybe he should've won more, yes, but it's obvious Djokovic was just too good, even for Nadal.

At the end of the year, it's also fun to look back on the year, and see the flow of the year. Most of the year it was all Djokovic of course, but at the end, Murray won 3 tournaments in a row in Asia, and then Federer won 3 tournaments in a row (and I'm sure Federer fans will forever remember his 6-3, 6-0 victory over Nadal at the World Tour Finals). So while Djokovic was the dominant force for most of the year, he didn't do much after the US Open, which is why I can't rank his season over Federer's 2006 and 2007 seasons.

As for live tennis, the only thing I saw was one day at the BNP Paribas Open (aka Bercy). It was a bit last minute, so I only got tickets for Friday. The line-up was nice though, especially the Djokovic-Tsonga match.........which then got canceled because Djokovic pulled out. Boo. I was really looking forward to that. Still, I got to see Federer (even though it was probably his worst match in the tournament, or even in the three tournaments he won), Ferrer-Isner (I quite like Isner now, Ferrer was pretty much how I e

xpected, still like him though), and Murray-Berdych. That was maybe the "best" match, not in terms of tennis, but excitement. You had the feeling that either of them could win. They're far from my favourite players really, but it was still...watchable. I now respect Berdych a lot more thanks to this match, he's really not as dumb as people think. And he does deserve a place in the top 10. At number 9 or 10, maybe, but still!

Also, I took some pictures! 653 to be exact...trimmed them down to 160 and put them online, right here. Yes, they're pretty awful, I didn't even tag them properly and stuff. Oh well.

As for next year, I might go to Roland Garros for the first weekend, or fri-sat-sun at Bercy again. Although the World Tour Finals are right after Bercy, which means the top players will probably pull out of Bercy, or lose early so they have a few days off before the WTF. So a weekend of Roland Garros makes more sense I guess.

And now my craaaaazy 2012 predictions:

- at least 2 slams and an olympic medal for Nadal. Nadal ALWAYS bounces back. Even though, like I said, 2011 wasn't that bad at all for him.

- Djokovic is going to drop down to number 2 after Wimbledon. Nadal back to 1.

- Federer might win a slam, but he'll also not make the second week of one (my guess is Roland Garros). He'll not reach number 1 again.

- Someone outside the big 4 will win the WTF.

-Del Potro in the top 5 at the end of the year, will be in the US Open final.

-Tsonga is going to defeat another top 4 player in 5 sets.

-The young dogs (Nishikori, Dolgopolov, Tomic etc.) will upset a few players, but won't make an impact on the top 10.

- Kvitova will be n°1 for most of the year, and will also defend her Wimbledon title.

-Wozniacki won't have a good year. I see her dropping to n°3 or even lower.

I'll stop now, that's enough nonsense already!