Diverse

Politica

In ultima vreme am asistat la diverse discutii despre politica, eu neavand nici cea mai mica treaba cu asa ceva. Totusi, in urma unei petreceri unde s-a discutat multa politica, m-am uitat la stiri si am vazut confruntarea dintre Antonescu si Basescu. Astfel am ajuns sa stiu cu cine votez si sa imi doresc sa iasa cineva presedinte. Pai cum sa iasa presedinte Basescu care s-a luat de sotia moarta a celuilalt candidat sau cel care nici nu a vrut sa participe la confruntare? Daca nu ati vazut confruntarea inca, ar trebui sa o urmariti!

Filme

In afara de serialele pe care le urmaresc [Lie To Me, Californication, South Park si The Office] de care nu trebuie sa mai mentionez cat de mult imi plac - desi SP se duce incet incet de rapa dar ramane un clasic, am mai urmarit si cateva filme printre care pot mentiona:

Bruno - Eu nu stiu de ce s-a plans atata lume de el. Ce e drept, am ras mai putin decat la Borat, DAR la unele faze era sa cad de pe scaun de ras [spoilers: faza de la mediumul acela, faza din emisiune cu OJ, etc etc]. Apropo, imi pare rau ca trebuie sa ma repet dar glumele din Bruno nu au fost regizate. Adica au fost, dar numai el stia asta; spre exemplu in emisiunea cu negri, ei habar nu aveau ca totul era o caterinca, ei chiar credeau ca exista acel om care a trade-uit copilul negru pe un Ipod. Acum... depinde si de umorul fiecaruia; pun pariu ca 90% dintre prietenii mei nu s-ar amuza niciun pic la The Office iar eu una il ador.

Written By - Este filmul chinezesc de care va spuneam in postul trecut. A fost simpatic, dar nu exceptional. Este vorba de niste persoane care se hotarasc sa isi rescrie viata in functie de cum vor ei, iar la un moment dat devine foarte confuzant nestiind care e realitatea si care e povestea. Entertaining, but not enough. Fata de filmele japoneze sau coreene pot afirma cu tarie ca filmele chinezesti nu exceleaza - sau poate nu am vazut ce trebuie dar oricum voi continua sa le urmaresc.

2012 - Vesnica poveste despre cum vine apocalipsa in 2012 si vom muri cu totii. Efectele au fost foarte tari, mai ales la inceput, dar filmul e putin cam lung si cam melodramatic. Bine, eu nu suport sa vad cum plang atat unii dupa altii dar probabil ca in locul lor as face la fel. Totusi ma asteptam la mai multa actiune si mai putine sentimente. De vazut merita oricum.

Orphan - Imi placea mult posterul din vara si cand am vazut ca a aparut chiar m-am bucurat si m-am uitat la el cu entuziasm. Poate din cauza aia mi-a si placut atat de mult. Ideea a fost ca nu ma asteptam ca povestea sa decurga asa si m-a luat prin surprindere. Nu e nici asta un film exceptional - bine, niciunul nu va mai fi un film exceptional, asta dupa ce am vazut Inglorious Basterds - dar merita incercat.

Am prins odata si Burn After Reading la HBO, pe care evident eu l-am vazut cand a aparut, dar era prea tare sa nu-l revad. Dupa filmul asta si Inglorious Basterds am inceput sa-l apreciez pe Brad Pitt ca actor. Inainte nu prea ma incanta.

Am pierdut maratonul de filme horror dar vineri ma voi duce la maratonul de comedii la Plaza. Cel mai probabil sunt comedii foarte proaste dar probabil vom fi toti intr-o atmosfera buna sa ne amuzam oricum.

Muzica

Am regasit un videoclip pe care il ador:



Jocuri

Nu m-am mai jucat DOTA de vreo 2 saptamani pentru ca am fost 'banata de system' si mi-e lene sa le dau mail; of course i'm innocent, am doar virusi, nu hack-uri.

In schimb m-am mai jucat ocazional poker in Poker Club si intr-una din dati am iesit chiar pe locul 5 din 70^^.

Facultate

Balul este pe 26 noiembrie in Turabo si ne vor canta Suie Paparude si inca niste DJ pe care nu cred ca ii cunosc nici macar organizatorii :))). Cine vrea sa vina, just lemme know.

Chineza

Wo ai Hanyu.

Tru Blood

When you came in, the air went out
And every shadow, filled up with doubt
I don't know who you think you are
But before the night is through
I wanna do bad things with you.

I'm the kind who sit up in his room
Heart-sick and eyes filled up with blue
I don't know what you've done to me
But I know this much is true:
I wanna do bad things with you. Okay.

Gorgeous intro, great show.

The War at Home

Another TV series I love and don't think gets the appreciation it deserves is The War at Home - actually it's not about the appreciation it gets, it's about the fact that it's not so known. I truly think that Rob Lotterstein illustrated perfectly the idea of A FAMILY. You could say this is a new Married with Children show.

The parents who are always fighting over small things, the smallest kid using this as a way to make his parents do what he wants, the middle child who is said to have problems, and the biggest one, the teenager girl who has emotional problems constantly, all mixed up with incredibly funny lines make up this can't-hate / must-love show.

Maybe not any family can see itself in this series as there are some far-fetched situations - such as parents smoking weed - or maybe those are quite common in other countries but not in Romania. Also, Michael Rapaport is acting quite weird for a dad, in my opinion. He is a bit unrealistic, but it's not that bad eventually.

It has 2 seasons and for Family Guy lovers, this series also features Seth MacFarlane in an episode, in a quite freaky role!

I could talk on and on about this show but I actually want to re-watch another episode and I suggest you all do the same!

The Office

Although it is not really known in our country, "The Office" is a quite appreciated series in US and UK. This idea of a series taking place in an office was firstly done by UK - the series is quite wry and bitter as all the English are. Afterwards US tried to implement it and have done a better job that one might have excepted.

I would've compared and commented on these two versions of the show in detail but, personally, I couldn't watch any of the UK episodes as i couldn't understand a word they were saying, nevermind the jokes. If I had watched these episodes before the US series i might've given up, thinking that it is stupid and boring. However, I got familiar with the US "The Office" before knowing the UK version therefore I could enjoy it exhaustively without having any prejudices that it could be boring.

The two versions have the same mark on imdb, although the US one has thrice as many votes than the first - UK - one.


The Office US

The series is filmed as if it was a documentary thus it has an unique approach. "The Office" shows us real life, seen from the outside. In this way, we can see that everyone has its flaws and its follies and - maybe - we can even understand outselves and the people around us better.

All the characters have different personalities and most of them have serious problems, hence creating good laughs for the viewers. Considering the place where the action unfolds - a boring place where you go only because it's your duty - the show reveals some characters' desires to make it a funnier and a better place to work at, while the others only want to do their job.

Besides the real life facts, the show has a script and the lines are so amusing that i've laughed my head off at times. Only thing is that you have to know the movies, the actors, the songs, the historical facts, the news, etc, that they are referring to, in order to understand the jokes properly. I'm sure that I have missed some of the jokes just by not seeing a movie beforehand. For example, you can't understand Michael's impressions of Yoda and Chewbacca or the William Hung joke if you have no idea who they are.

There are, as in all series, some jokes that derive from the typologies that were created thoughout the episodes. For example, one of my favourite characters, the boss, lacks the appreciation of the people around him therefore he always tries to satisfy them all. As he can't manage to do that - being obviously impossible - he only makes the matters worse and that's why the others don't appreciate him. It's a cycle impossible not to laugh at, when outlined with good lines and great acting. This happens in almost all episodes, being molded with each episode's own story. Another character-drawing that was created is the girl that constantly tells you useless things in an incredibly loud voice, being very annoying. I find it really interesting and amusing seeing how people from the office cope with that.

PS. The boss i was talking about is Steve Carell, a comedian who can be seen playing in The 40 Year Old Virgin, Bewitched, Bruce Almighty, Little Miss Sunshine, Evan Almighty and Dan In Real Life - a movie i want to see for a while now, but don't quite find the time.

Most may find it too dry and hard to digest although it is neither boring nor difficult. Nonetheless, you can not catch the humour of a whole series by watching only one episode; you have to get used to their way of putting things and to enter the atmosphere.

Enough with the talking, you'll understand it better if you see for yourself!


PS: If you liked Office Space, you can't miss this series!

South Park

In caz ca nu stiati, au aparut deja 3 episoade din noul sezon South Park. Fiind o fana infocata a acestui tip de umor si deci a serialului, le-am luat repede, repede, imediat cum au aparut, pregatita de ras, gandindu-ma ce or mai fi nascocit Matt Stone si Trey Parker.

Din pacate, si nu ma asteptam sa zic asta vreodata, am fost dezamagita. Multi prieteni, de asemenea fani South Park mi-au spus inca din sezonul 11 ca si-au pierdut din stil si ironie insa nu am fost de acord. De ce? Deoarece sezonul 11, dupa mine, a fost foarte bun comparativ cu 12 si bun comparativ cu restul.

Sezonul 11 - Highlights

1104 - The Snuke - caterinca de serialul 24, care a innebunit intreaga lume. De inteles.
1105 - Fantastic Easter Special - Kyle, evreul, ajunge sa fie rugat de Iisus sa il omoare. Din nou. Ironic.
1106 - D-Yikes! - Mr. Garrison, profesorul homosexual, care si-a facut operatie de sex in episoadele precedente, ajunge sa aibe relatii cu femei, devenind astfel lesbiana, totul pe script a la 300.
1108 - Le Petit Tourette - Cartman gaseste o cale prin care poate spune orice fara a fi pedepsit. Funny.
1110 - Imagination Land 1, 2, 3 - De multumit creatorilor pentru adunatura de cartoons de care multa lume uitase.
1113 - Guitar Queer-o - Ironie la adresa obsedatilor de jocuri, care in loc sa invete sa cante la chitara pe bune, apasa pe niste butoane si incearca sa faca high score. Din pacate, de aici au cam inceput sa se repete, existand inca vreo 2-3 episoade in care este satirizata obsesia pentru Nintendo Wii si bineinteles pentru WOW.

Iar episodul in care m-am amuzat cel mai tare este 1107 - Night of the Living Homeless. Nu numai ca fac misto de multitudinea de filme cu zombie care ne-a acaparat dar replica urmatoare m-a facut sa rad incredibil de mult:

Evergreen Villager: The homeless first started arriving in Evergreen about 3 months ago. At first they were only a few of them, asking for change, sleeping in the parks. But then more showed up. And we realized there was something different about them. They fed off of our change to the point that they could actually start renting apartments. We knew it wouldn't be long before the homeless actually started buying homes. And then we'd had no idea who is homeless and who wasn't. People living in the house right next door to you could be homeless and you wouldn't even know. Nobody could trust anybody. Fights broke out, war! That's when I starting suspecting my own wife, who I'd be living with for 20 years, was actually homeless. So I had to burn her, in her bed, while she slept. After she died, I vowed I wouldn't let the homeless destroy our town. So we came up with a plan to get rid of them once and for all.
Kyle Broflovski: You son of a bitch! You didn't solve your homeless problem, you just sent all your homeless to South Park!
Evergreen Villager: That's right, yes.

Sezonul 12 - Lowlights :))

1201 - Tonsil Trouble - Destul de interesanta ideea, insa si-au pierdut din farmec iar finalul a fost dezastruos. Cum au ajuns ei la concluzia ca banii sunt the cure for AIDS? Poate e vreo faza anume, de care nu m-am prins, dar momentan, pana nu ma lamureste cineva, traiesc cu impresia ca pur si simplu nu mai aveau ce anume sa includa in episod si au apelat la an-tan-te. Mi-a placut ca au facut misto de faptul ca sida e mai putin cool decat cancer iar replica cu "Are you sure? I'm not sure, i'm HIV positive." este foarte ingenioasa doar ca este folosita in exces, cel mai probabil din lipsa de alte glume.

1202 - Britney's New Look - Eu inteleg ca Britney este intr-adevar un fenomen in media in ultima vreme, si cum isi au obiceiul, Matt si Trey satirizeaza lucrurile recente insa abia daca am schitat un zambet la acest episod. Au folosit-o in exces pe Britney cu jumatate de fata, imagine nu tocmai placuta. Si nu spun ca pana acum nu au avut imagini mult mai deranjante, insa lipsa de umor din acest episod, m-a facut sa nu suport nici imaginea. Mi-a placut faptul ca atunci cand Britney avea doar jumatate de fata ei o puneau sa cante si sa sustina concerte in continuare. Foarte satiric. Finalul, insa, iarasi dezastruos.

1302 - Major Boobage - Ca si intr-un episod mai vechi fac caterinca de diverse metode folosite de adolescenti pentru a se droga. In episodul de care vorbesc, era vorba de pastile de tuse, insa de data aceasta au inventat un drog cu totul si cu totul original. E interesant cum foarte subtil incearca sa spuna ca drogurile trebuie legalizate si ca este doar vina oamenilor ca le folosesc [in exces sau pur si simplu]. Se folosesc pentru aceasta metafora de ceva inofensiv dar care dat pe mana unor oameni, aparent, devine periculos: o pisica. In orice caz, acest episod mi-a provocat mai multe zambete, si chiar rasete pe alocuri, decat episodul anterior.

Per total, dupa cum spunea cineva pe imdb, Matt si Trey ar trebui sa mai incerce putin din ce fumau acum cativa ani, cand s-au apucat de South Park, deoarece si-au pierdut din farmec.

NB. Am reusit sa gasesc subtitrari in romana si de asemenea am reusit sa o conving pe maicamea sa se uite cu mine la South Park deoarece ea traia cu impresia ca ei stiu doar sa injure si ca asta e tot rostul serialului. Dupa vreo 2 episoade, fiindca nu ii plac animatiile, mi-a spus ca intr-adevar au glume bune, insa limbajul lasa de dorit. Eh. Pentru noi, astia mai tineri si mai open-minded, limbajul e un plus.

PS. In cazul in care doriti sa vizionati South Park nu mai trebuie sa rugati prietenii sa vi le imprumute, sau sa cautati variante bune ci doar sa accesati linkul asta. South Park now free. Ma intreb de ce tocmai acum...

PPS. Pentru cei care sustin ca South Park este un serial de cacat, scuzati limbajul, trebuie sa realizeze totusi ca pentru a intelege glumele si pentru a prinde umorul, nu poti vedea doar un episod din sezonul 8 si gata: iti place bine, nu-ti place, aia e. Nu. Se creaza anumite tipologii, anumite glume care se repeta dar se muleaza pe subiectul fiecarui episod si asa mai departe, toate acestea contribuind la amuzamentul episoadelor. Si asta este valabil la orice serial.