Little dead are soon in graves... it´s Halloween again at LIFE IN HEL!
Today I´m half the man I used to be.
Guess I pretty much summed up my thoughts and attitude towards it already in last year´s post. Things haven´t changed all that much since then. This time around though, partly caused by the Night Visions Festival, my excitement has grown compared to the last couple of years. That old scar seems to be itching again!
TWID on Friday was great and if you are into H.P. Lovecraft but haven´t seen the movie yet, you gotta change that asap! I am not going to give away the ending, suffice it to say it differs completely from the original story.
Third act, anyone? Usually I´m quite a purist when it comes to screen adaptions of my favourite books. It´s different with this one: although Lovecraft´s short story works perfectly in its actual medium, the alterations done by the HPLHS step it up a notch in order to make the tale more suitable for being a feature movie. In my opinion the film makers enhanced the original material without doing it any harm. Rather on the contrary, you can watch a story now that you already know without knowing how it ends - and the end is pretty cool!
After the movie (dead silence in a sold out cinema room - the way it should be!) viewers were given the chance to have a nice Q & A with director / producer / actor Sean Branney, an overall friendly and sympathic guy who answered the many questions patiently.
Only thing I regret is that I didn´t get to see more than just one movie, the festival program was really spiced with many whacky ones, that´s for sure. I´m also sure that when Night Visions returns next spring, I will be ready for a movie marathon!
Tonight is going to be zombie night at LIFE IN HEL (severed) headquarters.
What´s it gonna be? Gates of Hell? Dawn of the Dead? La Regina dei Cannibali?
Haven´t decided yet, but for now:
Let´s all go to the lobby and give ourselves a treat!
Then being supplied with candy, coke and popcorn I will treat myself today with this weird little tale on celluloid. My language course is now over and I´m gonna celebrate it Lovecraftian-style. So far I´ve only heard that "The Whisperer in Darkness" rules, soon I will know for sure. At least it´s made by people who should know exactly what their doing: The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society! Sounds like a winner...
If you are in Helsinki and into weird movies you can´t afford to miss out on paying a visit to Pieni Leffakauppa! The name says it all (= small movie store) and yet hides its light under a bushel. Not bigger than a two-room apartment the place is crammed up to the ceiling with tons of DVDs, Blu-Rays and VHS cassettes, both new and used. They also sell some merchandise, like film shirts and posters.
Deep in the bowels of Pieni Leffakauppa
The focus is definitely on everything NOT mainstream. German silent movies, American horror classics, Japanese weirdness, Mexican wrestler flicks, Italian gore/splatter, 70ties sleaze, film noir, cartoon series and every genre that could possibly end on -exploitation, as long as it is legal, odds are high that you will find whatever you´re looking for right there. The variety of their supply is really amazing and I could easily spend a fortune in that place if I only had one.
A couple of years back I was very much into movies, preferably those of the obscure and/or gruesome kind. Then I somehow lost my interest a bit along the way (in fact, for no particular reason) until I heard about an upcoming movie festival called NightVisions - Maximum Halloween 3011.
The news gave me a long-lost but familiar thrill and I searched the interwebs for more info. I found out that the festival is the oldest and biggest in Finland focusing on horror, fantasy, sci-fi, action and cult cinema. It takes place even twice a year with the Spring edition being in April and the Autumn edition being in the end of October, ergo nicely and fittingly close to Halloween. Night Visions is held over five continuous days and - take notice, all you geeks and freaks! - runs from this week´s Wednesday (26.10) until Sunday (30.10).
Scene of the crime will be the cinema MAXIM (with very few exceptions) in the city center and you will get your movie tickets directly there or in...yes, Pieni Leffakauppa.
With my renewed interest in film I was of course pleased as punch that I could tappaa kaksi kärpästä yhdellä iskulla. Not only would I get my ticket, I would also get to check out that little movie store. And checking out is what I did now already twice, as mentioned above the place really is incredible and if you are a true movie nerd you have to see it for yourself - seeing is believing! Didn´t get the ticket though. An institution devoted to the cause like them sells of course, almost needless to say, only the yölippu (= night ticket). Between Saturday and Sunday a helluva lot of movies will be shown, the first starting at 3.30pm, the last starting(!) at 9am(!!) the next morning (!!!). So if you have both the guts and the Geld, you are in for a real trick and treat. I must say that 45 Euro are fair but a bit steep for me at the moment, so my only flick of choice is "The Whisperer in Darkness", the screen adaption of a H.P. Lovecraft short story which I coincidently read again just recently. Bought my ticket at Maxim a couple of days ago and on Friday evening they will have "The Whisperer" on their silver screen. Can´t wait to see it!
Now it´s official: I am rated B 1.1 by language school Edupoli!
A short explanation for the ones of you who have never learned another language in (or in order to move to) another counry: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a guideline that describes achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and other countries. Main idea is to provide a method of learning, teaching and accessing that applies to all languages in Europe. The CEFR devides learners into three broad divisions which can again be devided into six levels. From level A (absolute beginner) you have to walk that rocky road all down to level C 2 if you want to transform into someone who is mistaken for a native speaker.
Not too long ago, this was a typical situation in class and all I understood was:
My personal pilgrimage brought me now to level B1.1, let´s have a look on what Wikipedia has to say about my current language skills:
"Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans."
I´m quite happy and also a little bit proud that I made it to this level in not much more than a year. My language courses gave me foundation but it was my job practice that boosted my courage to speak Finnish in a trial of fire. I have finally conquered my shyness! When it comes to my understanding I also feel like I´ve taken a leak leap, so depending on the speaker I nowadays might understand something like this:
Way to go, man! I start to wonder if it could be really possible to unlock the secret of the Finnish language one day.
I discovered this little gem just around the corner from my language school and it put a huge smile on my face. Black Flag had many faces in both metaphorical and literal sense. Just because this piece of urban art gives me reason I wanna add this:
Click to enlarge, then pick your fave member from your fave era.
SONG FOR TODAY:
Black Flag - Spray Paint
P.S.: I recently checked my blog using another computer and realized that my new system for the SONGS FOR TODAY didn´t work. Seems that nobody cares about them because nobody told me. Doesn´t stop me from including them to the posts, I like ´em, so it´s back to the old system with crappy videos on YouTube. I also changed the links that didn´t work in the past few posts.
ADDENDUM 25.10: Finally figured it out, damn it! From now on everything happens only on the blog! Will work on the past posts little by little.
