Gimme love, freedom and good movies against the coldness!

{mosimage}One more year, the Helsinki International Film Festival Rakkautta ja Anarkiaa (Love and Anarchy) it is a compulsory destination for lovers of good cinema. The offer this year is astonishingly good and wide, with more than 130 festival films available in the following venues: Bio Rex, Maxim, Kinopalatsi, Andorra, Dubrovnik and Kino Engel. 

 

Basically every single cinema lover will find something interesting to watch during the 10 days that the festival take place (from 18 to 28 of September). Japanese animation, the new cinema from Spain, the last tendencies of the neighboring Estonia, the most acid documentaries, other projects where cinema and music melt… everything has space here in Helsinki. The organization of HIFF is full of young and dynamic people who truly love cinema, and that gets extrapolated in an awesome offer.

 

 

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Added to this, the audience will have chance also to enjoy the visit of some very special guests like the Mexican director Carlos Reygadas or the Estonian directors Ilmar Raag, Veiko Ounpuu and René Vilbre (who is on the hot spot in his native country nowadays with the releasing of Minä Olin Siin, his latest project), as well as veteran Spanish actress Silvia Munt or the irreverent Chris Waitt, creator of the show Fur TV that you can watch in Finnish MTV.  

 

FREE! Magazine´s 5 picks for the 21st Helsinki International Film Festival:  

 

 

{mosimage}1) A Complete History of My Sexual Failures

Well, I think that the following sentence perfectly resumes the philosophy of a person who dares to dissect all his past failed relations in front of the camera. What you can expect from Chris Waitt and his exhilarating new movie is just to have a great time: 

”I made some sexy moves on Keira Knightley on the dance floor at a film awards party last year. I lasted two minutes before I was escorted away by her bodyguards.”
– DIRECTOR CHRIS WAITT, EMPIRE 

http://www.hiff.fi/lang-en/search-results/event/2024    

 

 

{mosimage}2) Tokyo Sonata  

Japanese director Kurosawa (no, not related to Akira Kurosawa) features a delicious bitter sweet story of a middle class family in Tokyo, where every member disguises in the everyday normality their own problems, dreams and passions. A great dissection of the contemporary Japanese society, and a wonderful final Sonata played in the piano by the child Kenji in the end that surely will make you feel goose pimples. 

http://www.hiff.fi/lang-en/search-results/event/2130—tokyo-sonata 

 

 

{mosimage}3) Chaotic Ana. 

Julio Medem is undoubtedly one of the best Spanish directors in the last decade. The creator of masterpieces like Land (Tierra), Lucia and the Sex (Lucia y el Sexo) or the closely related to Finland The lovers from the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) is back with a new little masterpiece where features the exploratory journey of the young and beautiful Ana. 

http://www.hiff.fi/lang-en/search-results/event/2044—chaotic-ana 

 

{mosimage}4) It s a Free World. 

Ken Loach continues being socially involved with a new film that digs deep in the problems of the illegal workers in England and the hard conditions that they suffer. We follow the steps of Angie, a beautiful British recruiter who will fall in the dark side of morals and ethics when starts her own recruiting company. Entertaining and at the same time compromised. 100% Loach. 

http://www.hiff.fi/lang-en/search-results/event/2072—its-a-free-world 

 

{mosimage}5) Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.  

Hunter S. Thompson is certainly a name to remember in our recent history. The father of Gonzo journalist opened a path of excesses that not many could follow (but many were and still are dreaming with it). A path of drugs abuse, taking experiences to the limit, including to ride 1 year together with Hell Angels in order to write a book (if you still have not read his books Hell Angels, run to the bookstore for it!). Director Alex Gibney gives you a detailed view of the talented and neurotic journalist here. If after this you feel hungry of more about Hunter S. Thompson, you can always take a look at the superb acting work of Johnny Depp in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, where Mr. Thompson makes a cameo. 

http://www.hiff.fi/lang-en/search-results/event/2064—gonzo-the-life-and-work-of-dr-hunter-s-thompson         

Downstairs – Oh Father

{mosimage}Exploring different aspects of indie rock Downstairs have crafted the perfect serenade for noise-punk lovers.

Fugazi, At The Drive-In, …Trail Of Dead. Three main influences that have influenced tons of group playing noise-post-punk, the references that clearly emerge from the debut of Downstairs. Mixing the best of each band the Finnish quartet has crafted a very good album that travels at light-speed.Ten tracks for nearly 40 minutes, a killing cocktail of noise and melody assembled according to a not so canonical but very intriguing sonic scheme. Violent and abrasive without going over the top, Downstairs trap a primitive energy ready to explode at every moment.

Blending electronics, sharp riffs, desperate vocals and powerful drums, the four Finnish musicians prefer variegating the attacking front: there is a lot going on with sudden rhythm changes Shudder Shudder, derailing hits Pale Cannibals and crazy rides Peephole City.    An extremely solid effort for a group with clear potential and strong personality.

Rating 4/5.

Anathema – Hindsights

{mosimage}Anathema offers in their new album an excellent collection of acoustic cover-compilation.

 

Vincent and Danny Cavanagh offer some old songs from Anathema, except the previously unreleased Unchained, this time played with an acoustic guitar. So basically what is offered here is nothing really new in their discography, but a new approach to their work. And the result is pretty fascinating. Great performances in every one of them, as an example take Leave No Trace, Angelica or A Natural Disaster. Background vocals are perfectly seized, and the inclusion of cello puts an emotive tone to the compositions.

Basically a must have for old and new fans of Anathema, although maybe some people who liked the old and more hardcore material from the British can feel disappointed here. In any case, this work sounds sophisticated and it really works as an acoustic project. A beautiful album.  

 

Rating 4/5.

Sinä Elävä

{mosimage}“You, the Living” is the new film by Swedish director Roy Andersson.

 

From Sweden comes this movie, highly praised for the critics, as far as I have seen before putting my hands into reviewing it. Roy Andersson displays here a collection of situations, 50 or more, that have as common features a depressing atmosphere. Beings that feel trapped by their lives, with dreams that do not come true, and with surrealistic situations, are displayed in front of our eyes. It reminds me a bit of the style you can see in the great British animation series Monkey Dust. But while in that series, I cannot avoid to laugh my ass off, certainly this Andersson s movie resulted boring in the end. I lost concentration after the first twenty minutes, and my girlfriend did not even want to continue watching it until the end.

 

Maybe you need to have been born in a Scandinavian country to fully appreciate Andersson s irony, but for me basically the film did not mean much in the end. Many cinema critics who love to masturbate their minds with indie cinema will find the film delightful, but for me the most important thing is that a film is able to transmit something. And this Sinä Elävä just got me as cold as the chilly Swedish weather portrayed all over the film. If you are able to discover something in the film that I could not, I congratulate you.

 

Rating 2/5.

Iced Earth – The Crucible of Man

{mosimage}The long-awaited second part of Something Wicked Part 1 is out in the market.  

The long-awaited second part of Something Wicked Part 1 is out in the market.  

The American metal heads Iced Earth, that enjoys almost the status of gods in countries like Greece, or what is the same, Jon Schaffer and his boys, are back, This album was kind of special because of the returning of Matt Barlow on the vocals (it seems that the life as policeman did not totally satisfy him) instead of Tim Owens.

 

Many foresaw this as a return to the old sound that encumbered the band at the end of the 90s, like with the super album Something Wicked This Way Comes, but truly said, this new Crucible of Man has more to do with the last 2 albums, meaning that is Schaffer who decides the destiny of Iced Earth, and what side to take when facing a new project. Long epic songs, that start with a promising intro, full of beautiful background voices: In Sacred Flames, but becomes more and more predictable and a bit boring. There are a couple of good shots that will remind you of the old Iced Earth sound, like the marvelous I walk Alone where Barlow´s voice is at his best, or Sacrificial Kingdoms with a great instrumental work by the whole band, but in general, the album can be received with a bit of disappointment after the high expectations that had rose.

 

The same that the sad sound of the Epilogue that closes the album, Iced Earth needs to find his way in future works if they do not want that their die-hard fans live just on their older albums.

 

Rating 3/5.

 

 

Laura Vuotilainen – Palaa

{mosimage}New album by the well-known Finnish artist from Jyväskylä.

 

Laura Vuotilainen is a well known singer in Finland, but probably outside her native boundaries, many people do not know much about her.

 

A former participant in Eurovision contest, in 2002 in Tallinn, she has hosted also her own TV show. She has a dilated career as musician, although maybe she can be a bit too “old fashioned” for the new generations of listeners who prefer to hail the incoming youngsters musicians from TV shows like Idols.

What you will find here is a collection of easy-listening songs, with the sensual voice of Laura featured all over the 10 tracks. If you want to have a soft approach to Finnish music, certainly songs like Monta Monta or Villiviini can be good options while holding a party at home with some friends. But the album does not take any risks, so here there is no place for surprises or improvisations.

Surely Laura will sell a good handful of albums among the adult Finnish audience, but there is not much left to excitement for young people who want to experiment new sensations in Finnish pop. Not a bad album, but just another album of Laura Vuotilainen, no more, no less.  

Rating 3/5.

Kastor – Lost Station

{mosimage}Another Helsinki indie wonder? Kastor is ready to invade the alternative rock world with elegance and a bag full of nice tricks.  

In an indie slowly growing domestic panorama it is always intriguing to meet bands which are consciously aware of their sound, steering and shaping it instead of letting it control them. Kastor belong to this category and their latest offering Lost Station proves it. 

After the 2005 mini-album debut Invisible Triumph the Helsinki quintet returns with eleven tracks that explore the different angles of music with shades of pop and alternative rock fascinations. Soft music plots interweave bracing sonic diagonals, while the ethereal voice of Matias Koponen moves deftly between elegant instrumental nets and occasional shakes made by guitar and drums: the combination of these three basic elements gives life to the best track: Lost Station. Other outstanding tracks are the marriage between rock and electronic music of Melody I Hear in Your Heartbeat which reminds of Mew, the epic melancholy of Something Beautiful and the enjoyable nostalgia of Stop Stop.  

Kastor might be a surprise for those ones still new with the band, definitely a confirmation for those ones have witnessed their live performances. Something more than a simple hope. A very solid album indeed.

 

Rating 4/5.

No country for old men

{mosimage}Coen brothers strike back with another superb title. One of the DVDs of the year.

 

Ethan and Joel Coen have gone though a consistent career, able to create a personal trademark in their films. Most of the good features you can see in some of their previous masterpieces are here again in this superb No country for old men. The acting skills of the three main characters, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones are simply fantastic; especially Bardem here is at his best. Not just because I am also Spaniard, but I think everybody must admit that here he really achieves a great performance as the assassin Anton Chigurh. Even the resurrected Woody Harrelson plays his part nicely in the plot!  

Some acid humor and astonishingly shocking visual sequences make you get literally stitched to your seat during the whole movie. The Coen brothers also play successfully with the lack of music to empower the oppressive atmosphere of those dusty corners of the deep America.

 

If a friend asks you about advice before watching this film, it is a bit difficult to describe what this movie is really about. That is maybe the magic of the Coen brothers, to leave you with the feeling of having assisted to a masterpiece that cannot really be transcribed into simple words.

 

Rating 5/5

Into the Wild.

{mosimage}Follow the trip of Chris McCandless to a new solitude life in Alaska.

I have encountered feelings towards Emile Hirsch. During this movie, sometimes he seems to give a very nice portray of his character, Chris, but some others he simply annoys me; something similar to what happened when I saw him in Alpha Dog. In any case, Into the Wild is quite an interesting movie to see. Based on true events, and in the book by Jon Krakauer and directed by Sean Penn, we assist through the movie to the existential trip of the young Chris, leaving all his past life in search of a new existence where the materialistic things are not the important ones. Farther than the reasons of Chris to do that, the more interesting parts of the movie are his encounters with other characters, and the mark that they leave on each others.

 

The movie wisely mixes drama and comedy, and there are some astonishing sequences where the nature is very present. But it is difficult to understand the utter motivations of Chris during his trips, and without the understanding and the identification, it is complicated to fully enjoy his wanderings around USA without feeling a bit uncomfortable and critical.

 

Maybe it is an excellent movie to watch more than once, because the first time will leave you still wondering if you liked it or not. At least it is good that a movie can make you reflect.

 

Rating 3/5.

 

The Spiderwick Chronicles

{mosimage}Based on the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, here comes a new fantasy story!

 

Well, it is difficult for whatever fantasy title based on a book in the past years to compete with the excellent trilogy of Lord of the Rings. Titles like the Golden Compass have not passed the test to improve Jackson’s masterpieces…neither this Spiderwick Chronicles. In any case, the film is not so pretentious and just turn to have an easy plot to follow and some good special effects, but without an overdose of them.

Probably the little ones of the house will enjoy it pretty much, but for the grown up audience, this can be a bit too boring and predictable. In any case, the work of the children is good, and it has a very nice and funny final scene when the evil boss is finally defeated by one of the friendly fantasy creatures (that we are not going to reveal to ruin the final).  

If you have children at home, it can be a good option to make them sit in front of the screen for a couple of hours. If you are looking for fantasy films to enjoy yourself, maybe this product will end up being a bit too simple for your taste.

 

Rating 3/5.

The white wise lion is back

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Talking about White Lion is talking about one of the most influential bands during the golden era of the rock of the 80s. I remember when I was just a young teenager who listened to them compulsively, rewinding their cassette time after time. Now, the band is on tour and with a new album released, and we had the great luck to contact Mike Tramp, their singer and “alma mater”, who answered our questions between gig and gig.

Thanks for collaborating with us Mike. How is the European tour going so far?

My pleasure! The tour is going great as it is always nice to see and hear that White Lion is still alive and appreciated by the rock fans. But it is a shame that we didn't get to go to Finland as there are many White Lion fans there. We just never got an offer to play there and the fans should know that it's not us saying no.

Is there any gig or venue you specially liked or remembered?

You know, I really try not to make any country, city or venue more special than another. But of course every time we get play a new territory it is a great victory and it is special.

You have played and will play in most of the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden) and unfortunately the tour does not touch Finland. But you are these days in my native country, Spain. What can you say about your stay there?

Oh Spain has been wonderful to the return of White Lion, the fans are great and when I hear them sing along to every song, I know that they have been fans from the beginning. I love Spain very, very much.

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Some Scandinavian people say that Finland is a country different to the rest of the Scandinavian ones. What do you think, being you Danish? Have you visited Finland in the past?

Well people always say silly things and most don't know shit. Every country has their special thing. I have only played Finland/Helsinki once in 1993 with Freak of nature and hope to come back next year with White Lion, we have to play there.

How does it feel to be again recording a studio album for White Lion after 16 long years?

The thing that was interesting was writing the songs as I had not written those kind of songs for many years and I truly enjoyed it, I could feel I was hungry again and not tired and bored. Going into the studio is just routine; the real fun part is the pre rehearsals when the songs are get worked out to the final detail.

I was hungry to write songs for White Lion again" -Mike Tramp-

What can you tell us about this new Return of the Pride, what can the listener expect when having the CD in their hands?

I hope that the listener will recognize the trademarks of White Lion and at the same time hear the natural progression of 16 years have added to the band and with that find something fresh without stepping away from what the band stands for.

Any special favorite track in the album?

Sangre de Cristo and Battle at little big horn, both to giant epics. It is nice to be free to just let song be as long as it needs to be and have as many parts in it as what feels right. This is not American Top 40 anymore and this is not MTV. It's just rock'n'roll with no rules.

I got the CD of Crimes of Passion, the band opening for you during this tour, and I liked it a lot. What opinion do you have of the guys?

They are my friends first of all and that is why they are with us. At the same time they are a good band who is not afraid of hard work that is also why they are with us. I wish them all the best luck and anything I can do to help them I will.

{mosimage}What activities were you doing after White Lion was dissolved in the 90s until the comeback in 2007?

I recorded 3 albums with my new band Freak of nature and toured the world. Then I did 4 solo albums and a double live album. I have children and I moved from the USA to Australia. Oh yes I have been busy!

What things have changed and what things remain the same from the 80s in your life as musician?

Back then you were part of rock'n'roll evolution, things were changing before your eyes, life were moving fast, while you were the one changing it.Today I am very aware of everything I do, I am experienced and prepared for anything that comes at me, this is a place I know well, I have been here before, I have been here many times, I am an old wise Lion.

You are the only original member left in the band. Are you afraid people can consider this like Mike Tramp´s project instead of a White Lion´s project altogether?

No. But you can ask David Coverdale or Dave Mustaine what they think. We are rock'n'rollers and that is not a job, but a life style. Why should I not carry one with something that I built way before Vito came around? If people have a problem with it they can stay home and not buy the album it is that easy. There are hundreds of bands out there; some don't even have any original members in it.

Future plans? Anything you want to add for the readers and fans?

I play rock'n'roll, it is my life! We still have more White Lion touring this year and new White Lion DVD next year, and we are also working on a new album.

Vantage Point

{mosimage}The central square of the city of Salamanca becomes a battlefield with the arriving of the president of the United States…

Being the action shot in the Spanish city of Salamanca, I was especially motivated to watch this movie. But after the first minutes, my attention became dissolute. The initial attack and the sequences of the bomb exploding are visually shocking, but later the big possibilities that the plot offers to make a good film are wasted. The facts are told and re-told from different points of views of the people participating in trying to save or kill the President of USA during his visit to a conference in the city, and so much rewind becomes to be pretty annoying. The cast lists very good names like Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver or the Spanish Eduardo Noriega, but most of their appearances get pretty wasted and without rhythm with so many flashbacks all the time. For example, Sigourney Weaver appears at the beginning of the film, and then… nobody exactly knows what her role is there anymore… Forest Whitaker s acting skills are also basically wasted there, and his friendship relation with the little Spanish girl is forced and not plausible, nobody would believe that after a conversation of 5 seconds he must become  her personal guard angel.  

Eduardo Noriega is an excellent Spanish actor who could have given a much better performance than just the simple role of being chased during all the film for ending up shot. And so on, so on… There are not even nice twists in the end of the movie, something that for example another film full of flashbacks like Memento mastered; the bad guys soon are discovered to be really bad guys and the good guy is the typical American hero who will solve the situation just shooting around to the evil terrorists.

Resuming, a very disappointing movie. My advice is that you better try with another movie if you are tired of the typical action films that lead nowhere. And by the way, as a remark, the Spanish security forces do not usually speak so good English. They must have taken intensive language lessons while I was outside living in Finland.  

 

Rating 2/5.

 

I hate Kate – embrace the curse

{mosimage}We don’t know what Kate did to be hated like this, but sure we know that the Californian guys are able to provide some awesome lyrics.

 

From Huntington Beach in California comes this original band with a good load of power pop that turns to be in some songs pretty danceable. Listening to their new album, embrace the curse, during the first couple of songs I had the impression that they could share some features with the Australian the Wombats, but I hate Kate goes far beyond the simple formula of just offering easy listening songs to forget about worries, and are able to compose intelligent and wonderful pieces like the funny I´m in love with a sociopath or the romantic It’s you.

The band has been around for 3 years now, and it is comprised of Justin Mauriello (vocals/guitar), Scott Hayden (bass) and Jeremy Berghorst (guitar). Step by step, they have gained a reputation touring around USA and recently they also had the chance to play a visit to Japan.

We wish good luck to the Californian guys, and hope that in a near future they will be able to visit Europe and delight us with some kickin´pop-rock.  

Rating 4/5.

Haloo Helsinki! – Haloo Helsinki!

{mosimage}The band from the Finnish capital features their debut album during this August, followed by an extensive tour around Finland.

Coming from the capital, there is no wonder that the introductory track of the album is named after the band: Haloo Helsinki!. A good representative track of what you can expect later: the voice of Elli singing lyrics for a youthful urban audience. At some point it feels a bit like the singer is a younger version of Maija Vilkkumaa, with the record company EMI making an effort to catch teenage audience around the country. The rest of the members of the band are Jere and Leo on the guitars and Jukka on the drums.

 

Do not misunderstand me. For being a debut album from a young band, Haloo Helsinki! sounds pretty cool. The production work is nice and some songs are really catchy like Yksinäiset or Perjantaina. It is just the feeling that the Finnish market is a bit overwhelmed with bands and female singers with similar style. Sure Haloo Helsinki! will leave a good feeling when appearing on live gigs and festivals together with the bunch of the other pop-rock Finnish bands aimed at youngsters, but it will be difficult that they can head out unless they are able to find a bit more personal style and “trademark”.  

Rating 3/5.

Automatic Eye – Don’t let the past come between you and your happiness

{mosimage}With this philosophical title the Finnish guys introduce us their new studio album full of good indie pop.

 

Indie Finnish music scene is not as strong as hard rock and heavy metal scene, but surely it has improved a lot in the recent years with fresh bands like Brightboy or the invasion by the record label Fullsteam. What we have here is (thanks god some diversity…) not another band “made in Fullsteam”, but a group of 5 guys that started 3 years ago with this project and are at the present day signed with Pyramid/Johanna Kustannus, releasing their debut album after having gained experience in the international music scene.

Actually, we recently talked to you about the Californian guys from I hate Kate, and saving the distances, there are some resemblances between both bands: they have been around for the same time, they both gained a good reputation in Japan and they both have new albums with excellent lyrics. As an example, listen to Weakness for Welfare or Brand New Beginning from the Finnish guys, and be ready to enjoy.

Maybe the compulsory melancholic mood is here more constantly present than in the Americans I hate Kate, but certainly Automatic Eye deserves to be recognized far beyond the frontiers of Finland. We hope that they can get a good push of promotion and show the world that in Finland there is also space for a good indie pop scene.  

Rating 4/5.