The Protector

{mosimage}Follow the steps of Kahm, a young Thai fighter who travels to Australia to recover his beloved elephant. Action is in the air!

Tony Jaa, who started to become really popular in Europe after his previous film Ong Bak, strikes back in a movie full of action and good fights. Certainly, he can be considered the Asian successor of Jet Li or Jackie Chan in the martial arts genre. The plot of the movie is nothing special. As you can imagine, there are many flaws, and the script is just basically an excuse to show the abilities of Mr. Jaa. But the fight scenes, that are basically the “core” of the movie, are astonishing, beautiful, fast and absorbing. There are a couple of excellent moments, like the sequence when Tony is climbing upstairs, with no cuts of camera for more than 4 minutes, just punching and kicking all what moves around, and another is in the room on fire, when he beats one after another the different martial masters of many disciplines.If you like Asian martial arts movies, you are going to love this one.

If you are looking for a better and deeper script combining with action, maybe some other kind of recent releases, like for example Taken, can fulfil you better; a question of taste. But from my point of view, this Thai one is a good spicy one to taste.  

 

Rating 3/5 

{mosimage}The best: The fight between Jaa and the capoeira master

The worst: It does not have English subtitles.

The detail: no stunt doubles were used during filming.

 

Pentujengit Alaskassa

{mosimage}The little buddies from the Disney series are back. This time, surrounded by snow immersed in a dangerous sledge competition in the middle of Alaska…

Well, obviously from the beginning, it is worthy to mention that this is a movie to watch in family; ideal if you have small children, or if you just want to show your most adorable and animal-caring side to your couple. The plot of the movie does not really matter, because obviously it does not make much sense that the dogs can be so smart to travel by themselves or even help in building a sledge. And obviously it would be impossible that just little puppies would win a sledge race against veteran huskies… So let´s forget about the continuous leaks on the plot and let´s focus on the positive sides… that are basically how cute the puppies are. Basically the movie has little more to offer than just showing some of the cutest dogs you can see in a big screen in the world. The 5 brothers are just adorable in every move, not mentioning the little Husky puppy, baptised by my girlfriend as the cutest puppy she has ever seen.

If you are looking for strong emotions, obviously this movie is not exactly exhaling adrenaline. But if you have small children who love dogs and animals, this is a very nice product to watch altogether. You get what it was expected, no more, no less. For me it was enough, although if it was just for missing my little dog there far in Spain, at my parent´s house…

Rating: 3/5

 

{mosimage}The best: Well, you just feel like adopting all the puppies when you see them moving so cutely.

The worst: It does not really give you much surprises, neither has a great developed sense of comedy.

The detail: Talon´s voice is done by no less than Kriss Kristofferson himself.       

Sex drive

{mosimage}Abandoning virgin territory is not an easy task when you are a teenager full of lust, but you do not want to behave like a jerk. Nothing like a good road trip to solve the problem…

Teenage comedies that deal with the sexual desire of unsuccessful youngsters are nothing new.  In the cover of the DVD, this new movie was advertised like being better than American Pie, so I was quite curious to check it out.

Unfortunately, the predictions were not true. Sex Drive is quite topical from the beginning to the end, so do not expect big surprises here. Even the sense of humour lacks of a bit more of transgression. Maybe 10 years ago, the movie would have been cool, but come on! we have seen dozens of the same kind of films during the last years.

If I have to choose something, I would stick to the good performances of the secondary characters.  Amanda Crew looks delicious as the eternal female friend Felicia, Seth Green is surprising in his role of the Amish Ezequiel, Clark Duke is maybe the best of the movie with his talent to seduce all kind of women (I see that the script writers have taken a look at PUA techniques) and James Mardsen is convincing as the angry older brother.  But Josh Zuckermann in the main role as Ian is just average, and you do not really feel much identified with his lack of talent or luck with the female sex.

With a couple of good moments, like the final funny ending with the “cat fight”,  the movie is just the average one you can see with some friends one evening while eating popcorns and forget 10 minutes later. Not a bad choice, but it does not really add anything much to the genre.  I was not expecting a masterpiece of comedy, but all in all, a little disappointment.

Rating 2/5

 

{mosimage}The best:  The references to PUA techniques to pick up women by Lance´s character.

The worst:  we want more “titties” and transgression in this kind of teenage comedies!

The detail:  It is said that one of every five relations in USA is started online. So maybe you have a Ms Tasty waiting for you there in some chat…    

Absoluuttinen nollapiste – arkistokuvaa 1992-2008

{mosimage}Here you have a double DVD that involves their trips and music during 16 years.

Here you have a piece of Finnish history, bringing by the band´s drummer Tomi Krutsin and the vocalist-guitarist Tommi Liimatan together with Pauli Hokkanen. 5 hours and a half of a documentary that, from my humble opinion, turns to be a little bit boring.  First of all, if you do not understand Finnish, you will have a problem because there are no English subtitles. The members of the band act in great part of the documentary like any other annoying youngsters who just want to have fun, but it is interesting to see the band growing up, and fighting the real battlefields of the Finnish rock music scene: the little clubs, although I must confess that they music is not exactly my cup of tea.

Obviously, if you are a band´s fan, you are going to receive this with open arms. There are some interesting extras included like a collection of pictures taken all over 13 years by Tomi Palsa or the documentary Kymmenen vuoden yksinäisyys. But for others who could be interested in this out of curiosity, I basically recommend you to think it twice before making an investment; the more than 20 euro that the DVD costs maybe cannot pay off if you are not a hardcore fan.

Rating 2/5.

The magic flute is living in the present – Jethro Tull concert at Helsinki Kulttuuri Talo

{mosimage}Just more than a band, a truly rock living legend, visited Finland to offer two excellent shows in Tampere and Helsinki during their 40th anniversary Tour. FREE! Magazine was in the show at the Finnish capital to check how Ian Anderson and company sounded there!

 

40

years is something that not many bands achieve. Fortunately, Jethro Tull is still alive and kicking ass! Probably the survival is due to the charisma of the only original component that remains, Ian Anderson. Nevertheless, he is the one who pulls the creative strings of the band, so it would have not been the same if Jethro Tull had ever lost him, and then basically, it would not be Jethro Tull anymore. Anderson himself joked during the concert about the continuous changes in the band formation, when introducing their “seventh” bass player David Goodier.

But before, a little adventure to arrive to the show on time…

I did not know if I would get the press ticket until a few minutes before the show, where happily I could see that LiveNation had positively attended my pledges. I was at that moment in the middle of nowhere in Espoo staying at a friend´s house, so after an odyssey through the “deep Helsinki big area”, and getting also lost in Kallio, I finally made it to Kulttuuri talo building. I had not been there since Yngwee Malmsteem´s concert, and the truth is that is not the best place in Helsinki to watch a concert. The acoustic is awful, and the organization places the fence 10 metres from the stage, losing much of the feeling of getting close to the artists.

 

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During the evening, I saw the best and the worst of Finnish nature. On one hand, people were nice and helpful to help me find the venue, in the end I walked with another guy who was also assisting to the concert. On the other hand, the kind of things that break my nerves about Finland and their “squared minded” organization: the entrance to the hall was forbidden if you were wearing a jacket, but when you had to leave it in the wardrobe, you had to pay in cash, and it happened I did not have any in my pocket. With the concert about to start, finally they made an exception and I did not pay, but the girl on charge did not forget to remind me that “I had to pay next time”. Please…if any organizer reads this, when will they realize that the wardrobe should be included with the general price of the ticket? And what if I feel cold and I want to wear my jacket inside the venue, is that a sin? Finland and its rules…  a never ending story.

 

Nevertheless, I finally made it in, and after a short delay Anderson and his British fellows appeared on stage. The flutist with his unmistakable handkerchief on his head attacked the notes of Crossed-Eyed Mary and continued with a good collection of the greatest hits of the band though their long history:  Beggar´s Farm, A Song for a Cuckoo, Farm on the Freeway, the acoustic King Henry´s Madrigal or the amazing Song for Jeffrey were some of the songs played, with Anderson cheerful, joking with the audience and introducing every song with a little history, apart from showing his virtuoso talent in solos with the flute, long but not tedious. He also joked about the Grammy Award they got years ago as best metal band, telling that of course they are not a metal band. Somebody from the audience quickly answered the famous sentence “The flute is a heavy metal instrument” that appeared in Billboard magazine.

{mosimage}The concert was divided into two parts, with a break of around 20 minutes in the middle. I must confess I do not like breaks in concerts, but well, this gives a good chance to the Finnish audience to go for a pint of beer meanwhile and chit chat a bit. Back on stage, the band continued with his good arts playing more anthems like the always awesome Thick as a Brick or Aqualung to end up with Locomotive Breath.

All in all, just a great concert that shows how old rockers never die. The audience was not wild, but silently enjoying, like sharing something magical and special that you cannot feel every other day. Older and younger people mixed;  fans of all ages with the band´s t shirts on just on a kind of mystical trance, moving their feet at the rhythm of Anderson´s diabolical flute.  Let´s see if they continue as good as now for the 50th anniversary tour in 10 years!  

The history of Richard O

{mosimage}A new French movie with high voltage of erotic scenes and drama. 

I must confess that I have never been a great fan of French cinema. Although being Spaniard, I never felt identified with the slow rhythms and the psychological drama of most of the contemporary French movies. There are of course a few exceptions like Amelie or L´Auberge Espagnol, but in general, French cinema bores me. And it happens more or less the same with this Historie of Richard O. The plot is twisted, the dialogues are blurry… the sex scenes although sometimes beautiful, do not transmit energy enough, Paris, although being on summer, looks like a boring city… Certainly Mathieu Amalric has charisma (for many of you he can ring a bell as the bad guy in the last Bond movie, Quantum of Solace), and his character is pretty lovable along the movie, being maybe the best his strange relation with Le Grand, but that is not enough to raise the movie to a decent level. 

As an anecdote, there is also Finnish language spoken in the movie by Tiara Comte, the girlfriend of Le Grand. If you are into French cinema and oppressive atmospheres full of characters tormented by existential questions, then maybe this film is for you. I will meanwhile continue praying for the French cinema to entertain me… 

Rating 2/5. 

{mosimage}The best: The charm of Amalric and the sauna scene, “Hyvin sanottu” 

The worst: I find it basically boring, not spiced up even with the erotic scenes. 

The detail: Mathieu Amalric is the villain in the last Bond saga movie, Quantum of Solace.   

Soulcage – Soul for sale

{mosimage}Second album for the Finnish band with a more settled formation and more mature sound. 

After their debut album in 2006 (Dead water diary), Soulcage are back stronger than every with a follow up album that offers the best they have: good heavy rock with sharp riffs, nice keyboards, a powerful drum, nice lyrics and the great vocals of Aleksi Parviainen (that I don´t know why, during some moments at the beginning of the album reminded me a bit of Ville Valo´s, although later the feeling faded away). 

Soulcage`s style is maybe closer to the American glam rock bands of the 80s and beginning of the 90`s, like Poison, Cinderella, Bon Jovi… Melodic rock with taste that can reach mainstream audiences. Tracks like I see, My Canvas, My Skin, the beautiful ballad Satellite children or the rougher Ride on are some of the highlights of an almost square rock album. If I have to put a “but”, I will complain again about the same trend that seems to be predominantly in all the recent Finnish heavy and rock releases: only 11 tracks for a full length album? Apart from that, a high quality hard rock album you should not miss! 

Rating 4/5  

Sepultura – A-Lex

{mosimage}The biggest Brazilian thrash-metal band of the history is back… without any of the Calavera brothers. 

After the departure of the drummer Igor Calavera, added to the one happened years ago by his brother and vocalist Max, it seems that the essence of Sepultura could be lost. Only 2 original members remain, and certainly many fans can feel that this is not the same. Honestly, I think that it would have been wiser just to form another band and forget about using the logo and name of “Sepultura”… but you know how the industry works, the name is still very catchy for millions of followers, although other many million will not pay the minimum attention to the album without any of the Calavera brothers playing in it. 

I have read a few reviews of the album before writing this one, and I share the feeling with many of them: I was not expecting much of it, and in the end I certainly enjoyed it. A-Lex is a conceptual work based on the famous book by Burgess the Clockwork Orange (and more famous movie by the master Stanley Kubrick). The debut of the new drummer, Jean Dolabella, is certainly great and the guy knows what he is doing behind the drum kit. The band sounds consistent, powerful and beautiful and with good lyrics. Another thing I love is that opposite to the trend of most of the bands of releasing shorter albums, here there are no less than 18 delicious tracks to enjoy! Excellent songs like What I do! , the acoustic A-Lex II or Sadistic Values that put Sepultura in the position they deserve. 

If you are able to approach this album with no prejudgments, you can find it certainly a valuable and great album. 

Rating 4/5. 

Ajattara – Noitumaa

{mosimage}Under the hand of Spinefarm, the Finnish record company that brings some of the best metal releases all over the world, here comes the new (and acoustic!) album of Ajattara. 

Ajattara is composed by very experienced Finnish musicians that share this project with other bands. So musically, there is no doubt that the playing is going to be skilful. What is surprising is the genre of the album itself, that it could be defined as a kind of acoustic black metal. Yeah, it sounds strange, but true, and the point is that it works. The Finnish guys put a big effort on the instrumental work, with a high presence of different drums and string instruments, and the result is notorious. 

Ajattara is the name of a God of the woods, and certainly the music goes with the flow. Sang in Finnish, the album creates a mystic atmosphere with excellent tracks like Keuhkosi or Saatama palvoo meitä. Maybe the lovers of electric riffs and more hardcore black metal style will not enjoy this, but for those of you who are eager to open their ears to new experiences in the metal world, this release is certainly remarkable. Give it a try! 

Rating 3/5.

Vanity Ink – More senseless random behaviour

{mosimage}Vanity Ink has gained step by step a good name in the Finnish clubs scene with a lot of effort and great skills! 

The Finnish band, formed in 2002, features their second studio album after the release in 2007 of On your skin. One of the most powerful features of the band is the voice and the presence on stage of the charismatic and beautiful female singer, Annabella, who undoubtedly was born to attract the gazes of the audience.  

The band sounds strong, clean, and right. Good doses of rock & roll with no big pretensions rather than entertaining and make you move your feet. Annabella´s vocal skills are good, and the band sounds technically good, I would say that average. 

Maybe that can be also the main problem of the young Finnish, being “average”. It looks like a great band to see live on a small pub or a festival with a glass of beer in your hand, but maybe they lack the charisma and freshness to become bigger and more mainstream. Of course, with only 2 albums, maybe it is a bit too soon to say so, but I have the impression that they won´t pass farther than just being another name in the endless band lists of Finnish summer festivals. Time will tell… 

Rating 3/5.

The Answer – Everyday demons

{mosimage}The Irish boys feature their second full-length album filled with great songs and 100% classic rock! 

I have the chance to meet the guys from the band a couple of years ago before their concert at Tavastia, in Helsinki. They were friendly, and frozen in the Finnish winter. So I was very excited when their follow-up album reached my hands. What you have here is simply classic rock & roll. If you like bands like AC/DC or Led Zepellin, this is the answer to your prays: catchy tunes, catchy riffs, catchy lyrics… catchy everything. If you like more experimental rock, then maybe you could find The Answer a bit boring for your taste.  

Because I love classic rock, I certainly enjoyed this album, but I understand that many people can consider them just a cheap and young version of AC/DC. Maybe for the future, they should try to find a more risky approach to their music. On the other hand, AC/DC have had the same sound for decades, and everybody still love them… so you never know what the best path to follow is. Meanwhile, listen to tracks like Demon Eyes, Too Far Gone or Cry Out and enjoy a taste or Ireland with a good cold Guinness in your hand! 

Rating 4/5

Eden Lake

{mosimage}A young British couple is going to see how a romantic week end camping at a lake turns into the worst nightmare. 

I was surprised about Eden Lake… in good and bad ways. During the first half an hour of the movie, I thought that it would be the typical horror cliché movie with the monster or the psychopathic killer who lives near the lake hunting the young couple and the children around, killing them one after another. But this plot turned to be quite refreshing, making the enemy visible and tangible in the shape of a gang of chavs with not many scruples and killer instincts. Kelly Reilly makes a great role as Jenny, but overall, my hat off for Jack O´Connell as Brett, you will really hate the kid along the movie! And scratching a bit on the surface, the movie indeed brings a strong message to re-think about what kind of education the young kids are receiving nowadays from the parents. 

The action is thrilling, exciting and the rhythm of the movie makes you be in tension all the time. But it has also bad points; the plot is not much plausible often, and many actions from the character have no real sense. As well, for sensitive people, there are quite many violent and shocking scenes, so this is not a movie you want to show to your young kids for a nice Sunday evening in family. 

With a bit more polished script, it could have turned to be a classic of the horror genre. Still, it is pretty enjoyable and refreshing, so if you like excitement, a bit of horror and blood, and a girl who ends up literally covered in dirt after an extenuating hunting this film is for you! 

 

Rating 3/5

 

{mosimage}The best: The great acting of the young Jack O´Connell 

The worst: Sometimes the script just floods. Is it normal to invade private property or to stand frozen while your boyfriend gets tortured? 

The detail: Kelly Reilly will appear soon in the awaited version of Sherlock Holmes

My first band – You look so bored

{mosimage}Here is another very interesting young Finnish pop band featuring their debut album 

My First Band is a Finnish band composed by Antti Koivula in the vocals, Heikki Puhakainen in the keyboards, Juho Vehmanen as bass player, Heikki Kytölä on the drums and Mikko Virta as guitarist. With the backing up of a major label as EMI, they firmly step into the pop-rock scene exhaling good quality. Antis’ vocals are really something, catchy, well tuned, and can instantly hook you up.  

The melodies are cleverly composed, intelligent, and easy listening. They have the perfect balance between meaning and light-hearted spirit to reach all kind of audiences, from the lovers of more sad and depressing tunes to the people who just enjoy listening to radio at home while doing other tasks or the ones who can shake their butts at the dance floors of any Finnish pub. We could highlight some excellent tracks in the album like the opening Little White Lies, Broken Day or Why do you treat me so bad. 

A great debut album that confirms once more that Finland is living a golden era in many different musical genres. And we hope that the trend continues for many years! 

Rating 4/5

Duff McKagan – 3 concerts in Finland

Legendary musician Duff McKagan, ex Guns & Roses and Velvet Revolver, will visit Finland with his new project Loaded next June to play 3 gigs in Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu:

Dates:
3.6. Helsinki, Virgin Oil
4.6. Oulu, Teatria
5.6. Tampere, Sauna Open Air

More info at:

http://duff-loaded.com

U2 – No Line on the Horizon

{mosimage}The one thing that I find difficult when it comes to reviewing a new album is the fact that there’s usually not enough time to really make any proper judgments. Initial reviews of an album can feel rushed and just skim the surface of what only time spent living with that album can reveal. So here comes U2’s latest release, No Line on The Horizon, an album that almost demands repeated listening to fully appreciate its depth and nuance.

 

No Line on The Horizon is U2’s 12th studio release and catches the band at a bit of a crossroads. Trying to venture forth from the relative safety of their “back-to-basics” approach to song writing of their last two albums, the band is once again in search of a new sound while at the same time trying to retain the core of what makes them quintessentially U2. After scrapping their recording sessions with producer Rick Rubin (whose hands-off style probably didn’t fit well with their new experimental direction), the band enlisted the help of long-time collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. This new album – a product of the band’s jam sessions in Fez, Morocco with Eno and Lanois (who share co-writing credits) – chronicles their journey. For much of the album, the band has abandoned traditional song structures and have opted instead to create sonic landscapes and textures grounded by Adam Clayton’s tasteful but driving bass lines. The album mixes Rock, electronica, Jimmy Page-esque guitar riffs, and ambient music along with some Arabic influences thrown in for good measure.

 

There are more immediate and accessible songs (including the campy Get On Your Boots and Stand Up Comedy) thrust in the middle of No Line on the Horizon, but they almost serve as a counterpoint to the album’s more experimental side. These less accessible songs however, (which include Fez-Being Born, White as Snow, and Cedars of Lebanon), are really the heart of the album; drawing the listener in further each time they’re heard.

 

No Line on The Horizon is at times somber and contemplative (but never boring) with more than enough compelling moments to make it a journey well worth taking.

 

U2 will hit the road this year in support of the new album, playing 19 stadium dates in Europe (closest Finland show is Gothenburg, Sweden) followed by more dates in North America in the Fall.

   

Rating 4/5