bangskij68 Reviews

The Guard (2008–2009)

I was just goofing around

[8/10 · 7 November 2009]

on IMDb, -and I had just seen some Andromeda episodes and I had nothing to watch so I looked up the actors and I found The Guard which had just begun airing, followed the show since and I much enjoy it. The Guard feels "real" for lack of another word, the drama is usually high tension and the interpersonal banter is just great writing. I hope they make more of this. Specifically I was following comedian Gordon Michael Woolvett for his on-screen presence and charm, while a regular his character does not have the most screen time, -his character is in a wheel chair and I think he's selling it well. There's a certain moodiness over the show that I enjoy, the feelings are as large as the landscape as they say and the landscape sure is magnificent.

Star Wreck (1992 Video)

Captain Pirks first outing

[5/10 · 27 May 2007]

In this first Star Wreck film we follow Captain Pirk in his ship the Kickstart in a battle with the Plingons. The animation is crude top-down 2D done on computers. It is more reminiscent of old computer demos, where graphics and sounds were used to push computer hardware to its limits. Samuli Torssonen was obviously more interested in telling his story than pushing any limits, and it is somewhat strange to see this knowing how far he took his concept. But that is also what makes it a great fan-flick, mr. Torssonen, though clearly a fan of Star Trek created a sort of anti-Star Trek, where the crew is always swearing and being nasty to each other, and where Captain Pirk is power hungry and generally not very nice :-). Of course, as this is a 4 minute long film it doesn't probe the greatest depths but it is a precursor of better things to come.

Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning (2005 Video)

In the beginning

[10/10 · 27 May 2007]

Well, the final episode of the Star Wreck series is an impressive display of garage film making. Production quality is now on par with real feature films with real budgets and it's quite astonishing to watch. Babylon 5 is dragged kicking and screaming into the Star Trek universe for great comedic effect. Given, you really have to like this kind of humor to appreciate it. It was hard to be critical of this series while it was decidedly home made, but with this installment Samuli Torssonen has gone far enough to judge this as one judges "real" films. And it is quite bad on some levels, but on other levels it is far better than a lot of fantasy/sci fi films out there. I think any garage film maker with fantasy/sci fi aspirations should see this film as a sort of Holy Grail of zero budget film making. If you compare it to the Star Wars fanflick Revelations it is better on every level. The problem with Revelations is that they're serious. In Star Wreck the irreverent tone seems to beg for bad acting, and so it is self consistent, and it is this consistency first and foremost which makes it an enjoyable experience to watch. Captain Pirk out to shoot anything that moves, it's just funny.

Star Wreck IV: The Kilpailu (1996 Video)

Time to let the next generation have it

[8/10 · 27 May 2007]

In this episode Spook leave the crew and is replaced by Lt. Dwarf and commander Info. With the ships interiors also upgraded to full TNG status it's time to let it rip in full TNG mode. An alien race is having a(ahem) race to see who is most deserving of becoming their allies in this sector of space. Captain Pirk now has to race against both the Plingons and a mercenary hired by the Turengi, and has to solve the complex puzzle the aliens have created. Of course, he also have to contend with the utterly stupid helmsman. Again, animation quality is upgraded and again the scope of the universe is expanded, dialog is great as usual and this contains the memorable line "Plingon warriors do not shower". It is also the last one with an animated cast.

Star Wreck 3 (1994 Video)

The devious Romuclans

[7/10 · 27 May 2007]

In this first really ambitious story by Samuli Torssonen and Rudi Airisto captain Pirk uncovers an Romuclan plot to destroy P-fleet. Whilst animation quality is much the same as in episode 2 exteriors are upgraded and elements from TNG has started to appear, though the action is still centered around Fukov, Spook and Pirk. Lots of great dialog in this one. The interior shots are still done using primarily 2D animation and the characters are still crudely animated, there is now 3D elements also in the character animation, and we get to see the first away mission in the series. The concept of the expendable crewman is introduced here with 2nd Lt. Cannonfodder. The scope of the series is expanded with alien planets, star dock, and star bases. We also get to see the hold that P-fleet command has over a coward like Pirk, but also how cunning Pirk can be at his best as he takes on the Romuclan fleet.

Star Wreck 2: The Old Shit (1994 Video)

Star Wrecks real beginning

[6/10 · 27 May 2007]

In this radically updated Star Wreck we get 3D animated ships and 2D interior shots. Here the character of Fukov(ahem) is properly established and weird humor that is to pervade this series get its first real outing. Again the CPP Kickstart is sent to fight the Plingons, and more background information is given(The CPP Kickstart is on its 5 month mission to seek out alien life and blow it up). It is the original series that gets the Star Wreck treatment this time and the incessantly swearing captain Pirk gets to abuse Fukov as well as the Plingons. Spook also makes an appearance as the only somewhat competent crew member of the highly dysfunctional Kickstart. As this is only 9 minutes the story focuses primarily on the battle, but you can see the outline of things to come. Also, it is best to see this series in the proper order as the next episodes will refer back to the previous episodes, and this is the beginning of the story that will ultimately lead to the final(and hopefully not last) episode.

High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music (2006 Video)

Great techno documentary

[8/10 · 23 October 2006]

This movie goes through the birth of detroit techno and interviews all the major players. Very informative from a European perspective. While techno now may be seen as obscure, it is the root from which all the modern dance genres came from; this movie contains some documentation of a mostly undocumented genre and subculture. Most of the movie deals with the pre-rave time, and it's almost ludicrous how small the techno scene was at that time. The movie does not in any way discuss the European influences or scene, it is not about techno as a global phenomenon per se, it sticks to the detroit dj's which are now famous. It would be fascinating to see a similar movie about the scene in Holland, uk, Germany etc. -Ibiza dissected, -Mayday from the inside... Fun for the fan of dance music...