The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Review & Richard Armitage's Perfect Thorin

This could have been an early review, as I watched the film right on its premiere night in Madrid, but in the torment of events I could not allocate the needed time for this post. Is it better than AUJ? Is it more like LOTR? Considering that AUJ was pure bliss to me, I can only say about DoS that it is equally stunning, but in a very, very different way. The editing is much closer to LOTR, the succession of thrilling events is spectacular, the...

George Gently and Ricky Deeming - a Stunning Social Synthesis

Set in the 60's, the plot of the pilot episode for BBC's George Gently series involves the charismatic and rebellious leader of a motorcycle gang, Ricky Deeming (Richard Armitage) and a shoe-licking, conformist young cop eager to climb the career ladder. At least that is how he appears in the beginning. Later, the cop realises he was after the wrong person and eventually saves Deeming's life. I did not expect much from this episode, but it had...

Being One of the Marriage-Minded People - Relationship Trouble? Oh Yes

When you really know you're in for the serious thing, all other sorts of relationships just won't work. I've learned that the hard way - how else? The good news is that it's a lot better that those petty relationships don't work. I, for one, am sick of dead ends. So how do you figure out you are marriage-minded? I consider the biggest clue to be the fact that you just don't feel motivated anymore to be in the "let's see where it gets us"-type...

From the Fandom - The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug Trailer 2 Review

Sure I knew they would chisel it to the point of perfection (hello, we've been waiting it until 1 October!), but I did not expect a trailer which would have a *GASP* moment at every 2 seconds! I couldn't process the whole amount of information from the start - this trailer is an overdose! Disturbingly cold day in my side of Europe. It gets nicer though, it brings about a scent of Christmas,. and Christmas is the time for these lovely films,...

London, Feminism and Anti-Feminism

Just another... well, rooster The glorious Trafalgar Square is dominated now by a gigantic blue rooster, contrasting ridiculously with the architecture. Bright blue and bold, it is nevertheless cute, but what does it do there? Locals have informed me that it is a feminist work of art meant to treat with irony the city's obsession with masculine monuments. Men's statues, phallic monuments of all sorts... like in all other cities with old architecture,...

My Tribute to Anna Notaras, Mika Waltari's Literary Character (in 'The Dark Angel')

With her name as my writing pseudonym, I pay a tribute to a most stunning female character in literature. Decidedly unique through her struggle, Anna is a Greek woman born as nobility, profoundly attracted by the values of the Orthodox Christian faith and thus having a conflicting self. In the attempt to stay true to these original values, one cannot easily and wisely reconcile such spirituality (a doctrine of humbleness) with the demands of upper...

Facebook Not Playing Fair

Do you know those nice and sweet guidelines? No hate speech,  no discrimination based on gender, sexuality, ethnicity or religion, no threats and so on? Forget about them! These are there only to convince you that they're gentle sheep. But they're wolves in lamb skins... Don't place those claims there, Facebook, if you're never taking such things into account! So, the time I got into the reporting thing was when I saw animal cruelty photos...

Stray Dogs in Romania / Cainii maidanezi din Romania

In a country where hate dwells in too many hearts, every day feels like civil war. I have never seen such blind fury, such blindness to reality and to real arguments, such hate for a category of people towards another. The wise one talk and show, yet nothing seems to open the eyes of the brutes and psychopaths ready to spill the guts of anyone daring to protect the stray dogs. "You accept to have dogs roaming the streets!! Uncivilised idiots!!" This is the phrase every indoctrinated, brain-washed citizen tells to dog defenders. It's as if those...

Mika Waltari - 'The Dark Angel' or the Greatest Book I've Ever Read

Note: the writer pseudonym, Anna Notaras, is taken from this most remarkable book, a bestseller in its time. Mika Waltari is probably Finland's best known author and a true god of historical novels. No matter on which of those books you get your hands on, the richness of details, the precision and the incredibly vivid historical pictures will recommend such writing as top notch. Having read the dramatic novel Mikael Karvajalka, I immediately declared...

Cumberbatch & Sherlock: On The Bright Side of Pop Culture

Having loathed pop culture because of its shallowness, stereotypes, infectious nature, appeal to simple minds and loads of other aspects and being more attracted to underground phenomena and thinking that all things popular are only about Hollywood 'values' and naked blondes, I deemed it all as noxious. Pop culture is for the dumb, I said. Generalisation, however, often proves to be the worst crime. The smart side of society seems to have its say,...

Setting a Fandom on Fire: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Teaser Trailer 2013

If there is something that has truly helped me regain my faith in human kindness, virtue and friendship, it's the Tolkien fandom. During the LOTR times, it was in no way organised, as there was no big social media, but now with Facebook, Tumblr, blogging platforms and Twitter, fans have their places where they can express their excessive love without fearing the outsiders' reaction. So how does the fandom fare in June 2013, 6 months since the...

The Truth about Eurovision Propaganda: Hate and Threats

Let's start with something blatantly outrageous: countries which were thinking to censor Austria's performance were THREATENED to be denied any Eurovision rights for some years to come. In other words, they were OBLIGED to show the whole thing. So where is the right of choice? Why can't every country decide for themselves? There are different cultures. Each should be allowed to be different in its own way. Ok, so we were all obliged to swallow the act of the bearded 'woman'. Sure, one may say we could always turn off the TV. Fair enough. I looked...

We Want Kings! On the Fascination for Monarchs (Richard III, Aragorn, Thorin)

by N. C. Wyeth Royalty has always been impressive, and not all due to the fairy-tales hailing from medieval times. It tends to go beyond the opulence of royal families and the attractive high social status. Even the power factor itself doesn't fully justify the fascination, as we can see there is more to it. Presidents, statesmen and politicians today certainly do not have the same aura as a king, nor could ever inspire the same sympathy. ...

10 Things You Do on Facebook That Show You Are an Idiot

Building yourself an undeserved brand. Unless you are a professional of some kind, there is no reason to get yourself a fancy title, a logo, a watermark with your name and so on. Also, do not present yourself writing in third person. Do not mention it is your "official Facebook profile" unless you really are a celebrity.Let the fame come first, and then tune your profile to match it if so you wish. Don't brand yourself just for the sake of it....

Peter Jackson's Thorin: Building a New Archetype?

- Part of the analytical journey "Film Thorin vs. Book Thorin" - "At the University, we used to debate whether a literary work can be greater in the end than its author has intended. An author may unconsciously invest his work with underlying meanings and traits. While he is unaware, others may catch on those." Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit The human mind works with archetypes, and this is what we usually deal with...

Looking King Richard III in the Face

On February 5th, The Richard III Society officially unveiled the facial reconstruction of the English king, after having assured the skeleton found in Leicester was his. The monarch died aged 32 in the Battle of Bosworth, and no contemporary portrait had survived. The existing postmortem ones invested him with less than flattering features, now to be proven wrong. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images It has certainly been a great adventure,...