So I managed to write a 400 page adventure book.

So when it comes to my projects that I've been working on lately, I can finally say that I managed to succeed on the biggest one. I'm about to get the first draft of my historical WW-2 adventure book finished, which is something that has taken a lot of hard work and effort. 

Indeed, the reason that I haven't been updating this blog lately is because of the project. I wanted to make sure that I would spend all my energy on that project and that during this time I would not think about anything else that might distract me. 

In practice, what this meant is that for the last five or six months, I've been writing every single day. I haven't taken any days off, even though there have obviously been moments when I haven't felt good or that I would be able to meet my daily writing quotas.  

By that I mean is that every single day I have managed to write at least one full word-pad page. This translates to roughly five hundred words per day, which is something that I found to be a good pace in order to progress with the project fast enough. 

So when it comes to the story and the story beats that I've been working on, I have to say that I think I managed to come up with a plot that is fairly good. There's a lot of material in the book that is well thought out and that makes sense structure-wise.

Story-wise, the last time I updated the project on this blog, I was already working on the latter half of the story. I had written five or six chapters and was at a point where it was crucial that I had managed to come up with ideas that were solid. 

One of these ideas that I came up with (since stories & plots in general tend to get slower after the midpoint) was that I added famous people to it. I saw that having a famous person as a character instead of some random artist would give the story momentum (Henri Matisse).

In the chapter after that, I thought that based on this idea it wouldn't hurt to find a 'real person' who was a mathematician and also a resistance fighter. It didn't take a lot of research to find 'Emil Borel', a world famous math guy who fit the part well enough.

So once I had solved the 'story slows down' part, I still had to come up with a finale that would be interesting and that would feel like an actual climax. I had to write something that would make the reader feel satisfied when we'd reach the end of the story.

Fortunately, I managed to come up with a sequence of events, in which the girls prevent the Germans from delivering the stolen art from Montpellier to Paris. This is a finale that takes place in a train and was something that took a lot of creative effort. 

Challenge-wise, not only did I need to set up the chapter well and motivate the characters to take a big risk, the execution part had to be good too. I couldn't just autopilot the stuff and think that it wouldn't matter that much how I would write it.  

Thankfully though, once I managed to write the chapter and make some changes to it (better exposition, pacing and more content), I think it turned out pretty well. The stuff is fairly well written and should likely keep you entertained. 

In that sense, now that I more or less only need to write the epilogue to the story, I think it's safe to say that - perhaps against the odds - I managed to finish this project. I managed to write a new book, even though I was fairly sure that I wouldn't be able to do that.

After all, once I my previous book didn't get published, that didn't make me feel optimistic about my chances. I didn't think it would be realistic that I would be able to come up with an idea that had enough potential and that I would actually spend all that time writing the book. 

In that sense, considering that the book is twice as long as the last one and is easier to sell, things look pretty good. Things look solid and even though there are no guarantees about anything, I think there are at least some chances that something good might finally happen.

Update to my ongoing projects.

So when it comes to things that I've been doing lately, during the last month or so, it has to be said that I've been rather busy. Once my job started again in August, I've had much less spare time than I did during my summer vacation. 

Indeed, when I was on a vacation for 10+ weeks, it wasn't that difficult to progress with my artistic projects. Since I could slack most of the day, I didn't have a strict schedule about when I needed to write or when I needed to practice playing piano. 

So once my work was about to start again, I wasn't that confident that I would be able keep my artistic projects going. I wasn't sure that I would find the energy and the time to practice playing piano at least one hour per day and also write every day for an hour.

Fortunately, having now been back to working for roughly a month, it can be said that I've managed to keep my routines going. I haven't been slacking at all, even though I also started studying to get a degree on the side and that I've been having a cold for some time. 

Music-wise, one of the big things that happened was that I asked some of my colleagues whether they wanted to hear me play some songs of their choosing. I thought that this way I would have to challenge myself and not play it safe all the time. 

Naturally, once one of my colleagues wanted to hear 'Clocks' by Coldplay, that turned out to be a real challenge. This intermediate to advanced version of the song was pretty difficult to master and I had to spend at least 50 hours on the song to be able to play it well. 

Technique-wise, the way you have to move your hands is so demanding that it felt like I had to learn play blindfolded. This song has greatly improved my basic technique and it's clear that it was a good idea to let others choose songs for me to learn. 

Writing-wise, it can also be said that I've been rather active with my book project (WW2 adventure story). I've managed to write every day too, which has meant that slowly but steadily I've progressed with the story and have reached new chapters. 

After all, even though I had my doubts, I've managed to write at least one full wordpad page per evening. This has been a pace that is good enough and doesn't require too much of my attention especially if I'm not having a good day. 

Quality-wise, I obviously can't make any promises, but this relaxing pace has given me time to assess things and come up with new ideas. I've been able to come up with ideas that I think have been pretty solid and have made sense both thematically and structurally.   

In that sense, when it comes to the rest of this year and things as a whole, I think things are looking pretty good at the moment. I've managed to find some much-needed balance in my life and these projects have helped to keep me relatively happy lately. 

After all, even though playing piano and writing a book do take a lot of your energy, I don't get too obsessed with either of the projects. They kinda even themselves out stress-wise, so when I have met my daily quotas, I don't have time or energy to worry about them too much.

Still, when it all is said and done, there's no guarantee that the book is going to be that great or published, but it looks it's going to be finished. That alone will be a solid achievement, so whether it's good enough to be a success story or anything else, that is almost beside the point. 

Things that I've been doing this summer.

So when it comes to my vacation and my activities, I have to say that project-wise I've managed to be rather active this summer. I've managed to surpass my expectations that I had with my book writing project and me becoming a better pianist.

After all, once my vacation started in early June, I wasn't feeling that confident that I would manage to do these things. The idea that I would start writing every single day and that I would also practice playing piano was not something I would necessarily bank on.

Yet, as I'm about to get back to my 'real' job in less than two weeks, I can say that I managed to do both these things surprisingly well. My book project progressed considerably and it can be said that my piano playing skills got better too. 

So first, when it comes to my book writing project, in my last update I had only written the first chapter and was starting to write the second one. I had gotten my character on a journey that took her out of the 'starting zone' in Paris to the countryside. 

Currently with the project, a couple of days ago I started writing the fifth chapter in the book. This means that story-wise my protagonist and her partner have already managed to experience quite a few interesting things in their adventure. 

At the same time, story-wise, just because so far I've managed to write 180-200 solid pages, that doesn't mean that I'm close to finishing the book. I still have probably 150 more pages to write before we're done with the story (might even be a series of books). 

Another thing to keep in mind is that since I haven't structured the story beforehand, I don't know how the whole thing is going to end. I still have to come up with tons of story ideas and beats (chapter by chapter) that are hopefully character based, organic and plausible.

Music-wise, even though playing piano is not as important as writing the book is at the moment, I've also found time to keep my routine going. Over the course of the summer I've managed to learn to play some new songs that I've found to be worth my time.

Indeed, these new songs and melodies include stuff like Queen's 'Don't Stop Me Now', 'Uncharted', 'Blinding Lights', 'Transformers' movie theme and 'Mission Impossible' theme song. There's been a lot to work with these songs and they've kept me busy.

Progress-wise, the good thing about many of these songs is that they have helped to improve my overall skills. Especially when it comes to playing octaves, 'Blinding Lights' and 'Mission Impossible' have been really useful at making me better. 

In that sense, when it comes to this summer and my activities as a whole, I have to say that things have gone pretty well. I can't say that 'artistic-wise' I could have realistically speaking done that much better than I've done over the last eight or so weeks.

After all, even though the total amount of time that I have spent on these activities hasn't been more than maybe 2-3 hours per day, that's not all there is to it. That kind of daily routine requires consistent effort and isn't something that should be taken for granted.

Still, especially when it comes to the book project and considering that luck plays a part in the process, I hope that I continue to get lucky. I hope things go well, because in the end, writing good stuff isn't easy and isn't something that you can completely control as a writer.

Amazon Prime's 'The Terminal List' review.

Last week, after seeing some ads for a new action series called 'The Terminal List', I have to say that I got somewhat excited. Since I didn't really have anything better to do during my vacation, I knew that I was going to give this miniseries a chance. 

After all, even though I had read that the series hadn't gotten particularly good reviews from the critics, the fact that it had Chris Pratt in it was enough for me. There was a good chance that I would be able to enjoy the series and not be too critical of it.

Having now watched 'The Terminal List', a series about 'a navy seal veteran avenging the deaths of his team mates', I have to say that I have a bit mixed feelings about it. The series managed to be rather entertaining, although there were some problems with it too.

So the premise here is that Pratt's character is on a covert mission in the middle east trying to kill a terrorist leader. However, as they try to infiltrate the premise where the leader resides, his team gets ambushed, which results to most of his platoon getting killed.

Later on, as he returns back home, it doesn't take long before he notices that something more sinister is going on. The surviving team members end up dying under suspicious circumstances, which makes him think there's a conspiracy to eliminate him too.

Not surprisingly, as things get worse when he gets framed in a incident in which his wife and daughter are murdered, he's out for blood. He thinks that those who were behind the conspiracy must be punished, so he comes up with a 'terminal list' to eliminate them.

Quality-wise, when it comes to the overall quality of the series, I have to say that story-wise, the first two episodes are easily the best in this eight episode miniseries. This is when the episodes are full of suspense, easy to follow and the focus is on the main character. 

However, as we get to episodes three and four, we're introduced to a whole list of new characters, that doesn't work that well story-wise. More or less out of nowhere the series changes its focus - to bad guys - which leads to the story losing pretty much all of its momentum.

Indeed, as the series 'reinvents' itself, I had difficulties in being interested in what was going on. The fact that series also gets needlessly violent at this point and that Pratt's character's kill list targets aren't well explained bothered me quite a bit.  

Fortunately, as we get to the latter half of the season and we get to know what the 'big picture' is about, the focus comes back to our main protagonist. This is when I got interested in what is going to happen and the story is more entertaining again.

After all, as Pratt's character goes survival mode and flees from law enforcement & special forces (episode 6->), you can't help but to root for him. This part and the finale episodes, in which he unravels the conspiracy successfully is something that is worth watching. 

In that sense, when it comes to the season as a whole and whether I would recommend the series, I guess I can't deny that there were a lot of solid aspects about the show. There no question that since I managed to finish it, it cannot have been that bad.

After all, among other things, the series admittedly looks pretty good and does have solid production values. The cast is also pretty high quality and even though people have a lot of opinions regarding Chris Pratt's acting abilities, he does an okay job here.

Still, in the end, the real issue with the show has to do with its writing, that especially in episodes 3-4 is questionable at best. The poor exposition in these episodes, the lack of focus and the excessive violence is something that cannot be completely ignored. 

In that sense, whether one is going to enjoy the series as a whole depends. There's a solid chance that you'll find 'The Terminal List' watchable and enjoying, but there's also a chance that these flaws are too much and prevent one from liking the show.

'Cobra Kai: Season 4' review

A couple of weeks ago, when I didn't have anything better to do, I decided to do something that I wasn't actually supposed to do.  That is that, I went to Netflix and for some weird reason started watching the fourth season of 'Cobra Kai' series.  

After all, after I had finished watching the show's lackluster third season, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't give the series any more chances. The third season was so poorly written and had so many things that didn't make sense, so I thought I couldn't take it anymore. 

Yet, having now seen the fourth season, I have to say that I'm almost glad that I managed to come back to watching the series. This latest season, even though flawed, is without a doubt better and more coherent than the third season managed to be.

By that I mean that the biggest problem with the third season was that there was no real purpose on the show. The series lacked focus and real overarching plots that had meaning, which lead to the episodes and the season being all over the place.

Indeed, especially when it came to the completely unmotivated and out of nowhere group fight that took place at Daniel's home in the final episode, that was just embarrassing to watch. I just couldn't believe how awful and honestly insulting the 'climax' for the season was. 

Fortunately, now that we got to the fourth season, this time the series has managed to breath some new air to the storylines. We don't have to suffer from all those side plots and detours that we had for John Kreese, Daniel LaRusso (Japan Tour) and Johnny Lawrence.

Indeed, as Terry Silver from Karate Kid III makes a return as a rich businessman, this brings a real villain to the series. Silver joins Kreese's Cobra Kai and this time brings unlimited resources for the dojo to beat the crap out of  Miyagi / Eagle alliance - which story-wise works.

Quality-wise, the good thing about the season is that there's a fairly straightforward plot that keeps things interesting. Silver is a good addition to the show and his ulterior motivations and big plans - as a cultured man who is also ruthless - is good stuff.

Another good thing is that the fights are better motivated this time. Gone are most out of nowhere physical altercations that are this time replaced with the all valley high Karate tournament that has stakes + competent fighters (the actors are finally capable fighters).  

On a negative side, there's no question that the fourth season still suffers from having too many 'soap opera' moments. Scenes that look like they might go somewhere character-wise reset really fast and don't really go anywhere (= lots of filler).

After all, especially when it came to the Johnny / Robbie family drama, this 'plot line' just kept going on and on and on for way too long. It significantly made the episodes less entertaining to watch, even though in the season finale we finally got a resolution of a sort.

Still, despite these issues that I had this season, when it comes to the season as a whole, I have to say that altogether the fourth season managed to surprise me positively. There was enough good stuff that kept me watching and made me come back for more.

In that sense, if you haven't watched the fourth season of 'Cobra Kai' yet and are hesitant based on the third season, you should give it a go. You should watch it, because even though there are some issues here and there, the season as a whole managed to be fairly watchable.

'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' review.

So when it comes to watching movies that star Nicolas Cage, it's not exactly a secret that not every movie with 'the Cage' in it has been great. Especially when it comes to the last 20 years or so, there haven't been that many good movies starring him.

At the same, even though most of his movies nowadays have been pretty bad, there are exceptions too. Every now and then - like in the recent 2021 film 'Pig', he manages to be in a film that has solid script, so the end result turns out to be a fairly good movie.

Naturally, when I heard that his most recent project, 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent', in which he plays himself, had gotten good reviews, I had to give the film a shot. There was a good chance that I would actually end up enjoying the film. 

So having now seen the movie, I have to say that I wasn't at least that badly disappointed with the quality of the film. The film turned out to be fairly watchable, even though as a writer I had some issues with its screenplay that in my opinion need to be addressed. 

Premise-wise, the film deals with Nicolas Cage as Nicolas Cage, a former star actor who in the story hasn't managed to deliver lately in films. He as a fading star isn't able to get the roles that he wants and its seems that he's in some sort of financial distress too. 

Catalyst-wise, the story gets going when a Spanish billionaire Javi - played by Pedro Pascal - offers to give Cage a million dollars for showing up at his birthday party. This is an offer that he - since not in that great shape financially - can't refuse, so off to Majorca he is.

Story-wise, as he arrives in Spain, it won't take long before he notices that his task isn't that simple. Javi as a wannabe film maker and a super fan seems to be part of criminal enterprise involving a kidnapping / coup plan, that the CIA is trying to solve / prevent from happening.

Not that surprisingly, as 'Cage' is having a good time and bonding with his super fan, it turns out that his skills are needed by the CIA. The agency forces Cage to be an undercover agent, which leads to all kinds of twists and turns that eventually leads to our star saving the day. 

Quality-wise, when it comes to overall quality of the film, I have to say that the film is pretty well made. You have solid production values and the story is rather creatively built around both mocking and admiring Nicolas Cage as 'Nicolas Cage the actor'.

Indeed, among other things I liked how well the film utilizes Cage's career. We see things like a younger 80s Cage talking to the current Cage, there's excerpts from his movies (like The Rock) and since 'Javi' is a super fan, we even get to see movie props (like the VX gas prop).

In hindsight, the only real problem with the film has to do with its screenplay that especially in the first half of the second act felt a bit contrived. I felt that the beats weren't that well written and the film being a bit of a self-parody didn't excuse these script problems.

Furthermore, when it comes to the finale of the film and its ending, I didn't like the transition from real life action to movie action. I felt that it came too much out of nowhere and didn't give us a satisfying ending to a sequence that otherwise was rather well made.

Still, when it comes to the film as a whole, I have to say that 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' was a watchable movie and managed to do what it promised. There's a lot of self awareness / mocking in the film that works well and is to be applauded.

In that sense, if you're a fan of Nicolas Cage and haven't seen the film, you should probably give it a shot. You should watch it at some point, because even though the movie isn't necessarily 'great', the fact that it doesn't take itself too seriously is something that works in its favor.

'Uncharted' - movie review.

So when it comes to my expectations for the recently released 'Uncharted' movie, I wasn't exactly having my hopes up. I wasn't thinking that the film would be particularly good and that it would be able to 'respect' the wonderful game franchise that it was based on.

After all, even though I didn't expect the film to be completely awful, there were a lot of warning signs about how the movie wouldn't be great. Things like the main actors looking nothing like the characters in the game was a pretty obvious sign not to get your hopes up.

At the same time, just because I wasn't expecting much, that wasn't a reason not to watch the film. Perhaps Tom Holland as our hero 'Nathan Drake' and Mark Wahlberg as 'Victor Sullivan' would be able to make the movie entertaining and worth my time. 

So having now finally seen the movie, I have to say that 'Uncharted' isn't as bad as and as unwatchable as it could have been. It's a film that gets some of its basics right and manages to keep the story going, even though as a movie it's not necessarily that good.

Story-wise, the film, more or less, is a mashup of the four Uncharted games that have been released. It contains some of the 'best' elements from these games, like the airplane scene from the 3rd - and the pirate treasure hunt from the 4th game that was released in 2016.

Not that surprisingly, since the film has elements from different games in the franchise, it's not easy to make the story particularly natural or organic. There are going to be a lot of challenges by default if you want to make the story even remotely coherent.

Pacing-wise, when it comes to the movie, there's no question that the first 20-30 minutes in the film are very rushed. Things are introduced to the viewer in a hurry (e.g. young Drake and some of his less admirable character traits), which doesn't necessarily make you relate to him.

Indeed, as we're shown how he steals - as a bartender - a bracelet from a girl for no good reason, that isn't exactly a 'save the cat' moment that we're supposed to see. This didn't help the story and made me question what was going to happen later in the film. 

Fortunately, as the story goes further, the characters get a bit more likable and the pacing becomes less frantic. As they start figuring out how to find clues and items that will get them closer to the eventual treasure (villains are there too), the film gets a bit better.

Production-wise, I think it can be said that 'Uncharted' looks relatively good. There are scenes in the movie that are very well made and exciting - especially the helicopter / ship-sequence, so if you're a fan of the genre, these bits will likely entertain you rather well.

Acting-wise, I have to say that even though Tom Holland doesn't look the part at all, he does a relatively okay job here. He and Mark Wahlberg have some chemistry together, so I can't really blame them for not trying hard enough or not being committed to their roles.

Still, when you look at the film as a whole, just because the stars do their best here, that doesn't mean that the movie works that well. It's difficult to say that this feels like an actual 'Uncharted' movie when it feels a bit more like, let's say, a 'Da Vinci Code' film.

After all, especially when you compare this movie to the wonderful 15 minute 'Uncharted' fan film starring Nathan Fillion and Stephen Lang, you can only wonder what could have been. It's clear that the fan film had a lot more charm and actual 'Uncharted' feel in it.

In that sense, in the end, when it comes to whether I'd recommend one to watch this movie, I think it's pretty safe to say that I'm not super excited about it. This is not a great film and certainly doesn't do that much justice to the game franchise that it's based on.

Still, if you're someone who likes to watch films in this genre, like 'National Treasure' and even 'Da Vinci Code', you might manage to like the movie. In that case, you'll likely find 'Uncharted' as a film to be relatively entertaining and worth your time.

Things that I've been doing lately.

So when it comes to my recent activities, I have to say that lately - to my rather big surprise - I've managed to be relatively productive. I've managed to keep progressing with my tasks and projects, even though I wasn't sure that I would have enough time or energy to do them.

Indeed, ever since I started with my new job a year and a half ago, my thinking was that I wouldn't have it in me to do those artistic things that I had done before. I wouldn't be able to write anything bigger,  let alone try some other activities that have to do with music. 

Yet, over the last eight months or so, I have managed to prove myself wrong. It is possible to do all kinds of activities that have to do with writing and music, as long as you're motivated to do them and you're able to come up with ideas that have potential.

Music-wise, by far the biggest surprise has been that I managed to start playing piano again. I hadn't played the instrument for more than twenty years at all, so it was a huge surprise that I actually started practicing again and managed to progress rather fast too.

Indeed, if I'm able to do the math correctly and count all the songs that I've practiced, I've learned almost dozen songs already. These include themes and songs like 'La La Land', 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'Macgyver', 'La Vie en Rose', Chaplin melodies and Bond movie themes too.

Not surprisingly, the biggest requirement with progressing with the instrument has had to do with persistence. You absolutely have to practice pretty much every day and spend at least an hour (two preferably) learning the songs and working with your muscle memory.

When it comes to writing projects, I have to say that so far - against my expectations - I have been at least somewhat pleasantly surprised with the progress too. Even though I haven't put in that many hours, I've managed to be somewhat consistent here. 

Indeed, by that I mean is that I've tried to dedicate at least one day a week for my writing (gaming) project. I've usually spent my Sundays working on the 'World War 2 resistance story in France' and have managed to make some slow but steady progress here. 

Project-wise, an important factor has been that on a weekly basis I've had to present my progress to a writing group online. This has more or less forced my hand and I haven't felt like skipping writing because I'd just feel to embarrassed to not show them anything new. 

Progress-wise, at the same time, just because I've managed to go further here with the task, that doesn't mean that I'm guaranteed to finish it eventually. I've only reached the second act in the story (I think there will be five acts total) and have so much to do here.

Indeed, now that our protagonist has left the starting place (Paris) and has gone to countryside to look for clues about her family (joining the resistance), I have to come with solid story beats. It's not easy to keep the momentum going while introducing new stuff too.

In that sense, considering the project and its demands, it's pretty obvious that I have to keep my writing routine going. Just like with my piano practice routines, the only way to get better and to get further is to keep doing stuff diligently and not give up.

After all, when you think about the writing task as a whole, even though there are no guarantees, there are definitely no short cuts. Especially when you consider the creative nature of the process (not all about brute force), I have to keep going and hope for the best.

In that sense, in the end, I can only hope that I'll find the energy and the time to keep going. I hope I'll do that and will be able to finish the script in the next four to six months, because this is a long project and almost nothing about it can be taken for granted.

'Reacher' - season one review.

So when it comes to my tv watching habits, I haven't recently been watching almost anything on television. Especially when we're talking about drama shows, lately there hasn't been pretty much any shows that I have found to be worth my time. 

Indeed, most drama shows that you see on tv - as unfortunate as it is - are so badly written and so uninteresting that I'm just not able to stomach them. There's almost zero chance that watching them would make me feel better about myself or life in general.

At the same time, every now and then, if there's enough hype for a show, I might give the series a chance. This is what happened with the freshly released 'Reacher', a show that I felt it could be worth my time, since I had seen clips from the Tom Cruise 'Reacher' films.

So having now seen the first season of this Amazon Prime series, I have to say that I had a mostly positive experience watching 'Reacher'. The show was pretty well made and interesting, even though - not surprisingly - as a writer I had some issues with its story.

Premise-wise, what we're dealing here is that our protagonist is Jack Reacher, a massively built army major, who lives his life as a vagrant. He doesn't have a permanent place to live and instead goes where he feels his services might be needed (like Incredible Hulk).

Indeed, in this story he's on personal mission trying to figure out what happened to his brother and why he died in a small town in the state of Georgia. Something fairly big must have likely been happening there and he's determined to get to the bottom of it. 

Not surprisingly, as a man who knows how to use his big physique when needed, it won't take long before he gets into action. The locals, cops, business elite and others are determined to stop him from unveiling the mystery of what's going on.

Luckily, as the story progresses, he doesn't have to do everything by himself. Together with the help of a local head of a police department (Malcolm Goodwin) and a female police officer (Will Fitzgerald), they team up, even though the odds seem to be heavily against them.

Quality-wise, there's no question that one of the best things about 'Reacher' is that Alan Ritchson genuinely fits the part. Unlike Tom Cruise in Lee Child's books, Ritchson, besides being a solid actor, is actually a big guy who feels intimidating size-wise.

Indeed, as he almost from the very first moment starts beating up bad guys, it feels rather enjoyable to watch the stuff. I was surprised how much I - as a person who in general is against violence - managed to find these fight scenes satisfying and even worth cheering for.

Production-wise, when it comes to the positive aspects of the series, it has to be said that 'Reacher' is well shot and looks good. It's clear that a lot of attention was paid to making sure that the production values would be high enough and that the series wouldn't look cheap.

Script- and story-wise, the few problems that I had with the first season was that it definitely took too long for the audience and for the characters to know what's going on. The conspiracy of a local / international counterfeit ring felt a bit lacking.

After all, drama-wise, when almost every episode (eight of them total) started with someone getting killed and we didn't really know what was going on, it was a bit frustrating. As a writer, I wasn't always feeling super confident that the story would actually go somewhere.  

Still, once we finally got to the conclusion of the season, I guess the story was explained 'almost' adequately. These flaws that were sometimes rather apparent with the narrative (from a professional viewpoint), didn't prevent me from enjoying the series too much. 

In that sense, in the end, when it comes to the question of whether you should the show a chance at some point, I think you should probably give 'Reacher' a go. You should watch it and not be discouraged by the original author's 'not quality fiction' reputation.

After all, even though the story could have been better and more believable, I would recommend the series as a whole. 'Reacher' is a watchable and immersive show, especially for those who want to be entertained and don't want to watch something that is 'too' serious.

'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' movie review.

Last week as me and my friend were looking for a movie to watch, we decided to give chance to a film that I had wanted to see. We're talking about 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife', a movie that was released late last year and had been received rather well by the fans of the franchise.

Indeed, unlike the rather awful 'all female' Ghostbusters from 2016 that wasn't received well by the fans, this one actually seemed promising. The original creators were behind this new one, so there was a solid chance that me and my friend would enjoy the movie. 

So having now seen the film with my friend, I have to say that 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' is a fairly solid movie. The film works rather well and manages to respect the original movies from the 80s, even though there are some minor issues in it that need to be addressed.

Premise-wise, the movie takes place in Oklahoma, where Callie, the daughter of one of the 'ghostbusters' (Egon Spengler) has relocated with her family. Her dad Egon has recently passed away and the family - in financial distress - is there to check what Egon had left for them.

Exposition-wise, as we're introduced to the characters trying to restart their life - as the story slowly unfolds - we get to know that things aren't going great for them. The farm that Egon left for her daughter / grandkids is in poor shape and more or less worthless.

When it comes to the film's catalyst, the movie starts to get going when granddaughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) finds that Egon's farm has all kinds of things going on in there. The place is inhabited by a seemingly friendly ghost and the farm has some freaky gadgets and stuff there. 

Indeed, as Phoebe introduces the 'ghost trap' to her summer school teacher (Paul Rudd), it becomes apparent that her grandpa was an infamous ghostbuster from the 80s. This is something that surprises our young protagonist who wasn't even alive back then.

Plot-wise, the big mystery in the story is what is causing the earthquakes in a place like Summerville. There's no real scientific reason for this occurrence in the heartland of America, so something weird has to be causing the phenomenom there.

Not that surprisingly, as the films goes further, it's revealed that these quakes happen because of ghosts that are residing in Summerville. They're about to come back to terrorize us and our 'new' ghostbusters need to find a way to stop them in order to save the world.

Quality-wise, when it comes to the overall quality of the film, there's no question that this movie, unlike the 2016 'abomination' is an honest effort. The emphasis was clearly on making sure that the story would feel real and 'believable' to the audience.

Indeed, had this film not been so well cast (everyone seems to like the kid actors), so beautifully shot and so respectful to the original films, it wouldn't have worked. In that case we would have been delivered a disappointing movie like the 'non-canon' 2016 version was.

Story-wise, the only real problem in the film is that the script in 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' is a bit weak in places. It takes almost too long for the story to unfold and some of the (lack of) exposition in the film, like Egon's ghost is a bit questionable story-wise.

Still, when it all is said and done, despite these certain flaws, these pacing issues weren't at least in my opinion too serious and didn't hurt the movie too much. They weren't too serious and didn't prevent me and my friend from enjoying the story that much.

In that sense, if you haven't managed to see 'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' yet and are thinking about giving it a go, you should do it. You should watch the movie, because even though the film could have been better, it still managed to be surprisingly well made and entertaining as a whole.

Disney's 'Encanto' movie review.

A couple of weeks ago me and my friend started looking for new and recently released animated films that we could watch. We hadn't lately found time to watch stuff together, so we thought that it would be fun to watch some movies that would probably entertain us. 

Indeed, especially when it comes to watching animated films, over the years they have been a fairly safe choice. As long as these films have enough redeeming qualities in them, watching them has been worth our time and has managed to put us on a good mood.

So this time we watched together Disney's animated film 'Encanto', a movie about a Colombian family with magical powers residing in a distant village. Together the family, living in a 'casita' is able to help others in their community and live good lives.

Plot-wise, the catalyst in the story happens when a daughter of the family, a 15 year old girl Mirabel (protagonist) is about to go through a rite that gives her magical powers. Like every other family member before her, her ceremony is going to unveil her special gift.

However, as the ceremony for her happens, she and her family find out that she doesn't have a special magical gift. As she goes through the rite involving her grandma burning a magical candle, nothing happens as Mirabel and the family is more or less in shock.

Not that much later, as she rather understandably feels disappointed and even rejected as a family member, things get worse. Mirabel notices that something's wrong with their house, as it keeps cracking for some reason and seems to be falling apart at any moment.

For our protagonist, the problem with this is that since Mirabel is the only one who sees this unraveling happening, the rest think she's crazy. This 'rejection' from the family leads her to to a journey in which she will do her best to find out what is happening and why. 

So when it comes to the overall quality of the film, I have to say that both me and my friend managed to more or less enjoy the movie for what it was. 'Encanto', despite having a premise that isn't particularly organic or natural, is a fairly watchable movie. 

Indeed, there's no question that as usual (a Disney movie) production-wise, a lot of effort went to making sure that the film looks and sounds great. You have the best animators and the musical talents that worked their butts off (like Lin Manuel Miranda), which shows. 

At the same time, when it comes to film's quality, there's no question that the story is a bit lackluster and doesn't make that much sense. You have elements in the story that are pretty muddled and the movie also suffers from messaging issues that are questionable.

After all, especially when it comes to the matriarch who is outraged that her granddaughter doesn't have special skills, that was pretty bad. This felt to me that the movie sends a wrong message to kids who might think that they're not worth being loved unless they are 'special'.

Still, when it comes to the film as a whole, if you don't pay too much attention to issues like these, there's a good chance that you'll be able to like it quite a bit. The positives aspects in that case manage to outweigh the negative ones, which aren't necessarily that serious.

After all, especially when it comes to the film's vibrant colours and catchy songs, these are what the kids (and adults) will likely appreciate. These are the things that work, so if you're able to ignore the issues with 'Encanto's' script, you'll probably end up enjoying the movie.

'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania' review.

So when it comes to animated films, it's not exactly a secret that I'm a rather big fan of the genre in general. Whenever an animated movie gets released, there's more than a good chance that I'm going to watch the film and give it a go.

After all, very likely the best thing about animated films is that more often that not, they're going to put you in a good mood. These films are made so that you could forget your worries in life and feel better about yourself during the runtime of the film.

In any case, this time me and my friend managed to watch the fourth entry in the 'Hotel Transylvania' series. We decided to watch 'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania', which was released a month ago on Amazon prime and was now available for us to see. 

Having now seen the film, I have to say that I think we were both fairly entertained by the fourth entry in the series. Even though 'Hotel Transylvania: Transformania' isn't that great of a movie, it still managed to be pretty watchable despite its flaws.

Premise-wise, this time we're dealing with a situation in which the patriarch of the family, 'Dracula' is ready to leave his hotel to his son-in-law. It's time for Johnny to take charge of the family business so that 'dad' could finally do some other things in life.

Yet, as the announcement of this transition is about to happen, 'Dracula' gets cold feet and thinks that Johnny's too immature and not up for the job. He comes up with a phony excuse, which is that only monsters are legally allowed to run the business. 

Not that surprisingly, Johnny thinks that this is the real reason that he doesn't get the business and decides to become a monster himself. He gets help from the crazy scientist in the hotel, who manages to turn Johnny into a monster with his staff that has a magic crystal in it.  

Not that much later, things get complicated when an accident happens. Once Dracula finds about the transformation, he accidentally turns himself and others into humans, breaks the crystal and has to go on a journey to find another one to reverse the spell.  

So quality-wise, when you have a premise and a catalyst like this - not necessarily organic or natural - I felt a bit hesitant about the story and what would follow. There are a lot of reasons why the film would more or less fall apart later in the movie and not make enough sense.

Indeed, if you don't manage to come up with a premise that is organic enough, by definition there are going to be roadblocks ahead. This is true - in most cases - especially when it comes to live action movies, that we in the audience judge more harshly.

Fortunately though, in this case, thanks to the movie being an animated film and the writers being professional enough about the story beats / structure, the film does kinda manage to work. The story beats are almost good enough and occur when they should.

Indeed, even though the climax is a bit too hokey and perhaps illogical (Johnny's emotional 'cure' from being a big monster villain), flaws like these didn't feel that awful. They're almost acceptable considering the genre that we're talking about. 

In that sense, when it comes to the quality of the film as a whole and whether I would actually recommend it, I think it's safe to say that it depends. It depends on what kind of films you like to watch and what kind of stuff you expect from them.

After all, if you enjoy watching films that do their best to put you on a good mood and that aren't judgmental, in that case this movie might be for you. 'Hotel Transylvania 4', despite its flaws is something that you should probably give a shot at some point.

On the other hand, if you're not a particular fan of animated movies and 'good mood' stuff, in that case this movie honestly might not be for you. 'Hotel Transylvania: Transformation' probably isn't your cup of tea and you should probably avoid watching it. 

2021 recap and things I'm hoping to do this year.

So when it comes to last year, it can now be said rather safely that I had a surprisingly good year as a whole in 2021. Even though I didn't manage to be particularly productive as a writer, there were other things where I managed to excel surprisingly well.

Indeed, among other things, last year I got a steady job that - even though doesn't make me rich - allows to make me financially a bit more secure. It makes me feel that I'm actually contributing to society and that I can make a difference in this world.

When it comes to my social life, I've made new friends at my work and this has also contributed to my overall well being. I've shown to myself that I get along with people more than well and that it seems that others like my company as well.

Artistically speaking, there's no question that me starting to play piano again after a 20+ year break was a big positive surprise for myself. I managed to start playing the instrument again and have kept my practice routine pretty strong ever since.

Indeed, especially when I started learning the main theme from 'The Monkey Island' a couple weeks ago, I felt really good about my progress. I kept practicing diligently, even though this song was probably the most difficult so far that I've tried to learn.

So when it comes to this year, it's pretty clear that if I want to be as productive that I managed to be last year, I have to keep myself active and take some chances again. I need to keep my practice routines going and also get lucky in the process.

Artistically speaking - piano that is - the most obvious thing is that I need to keep improving my skills as a musician. This is a thing that I absolutely need to pay attention to and not start resting on my laurels, even though there's a chance that it might happen.

After all, during my 'theory learning' break that I had during the holidays, I got a bit lazy and didn't challenge myself enough. Even though I did practice those old songs that I had learned, the best way to improve is by learning new songs on a consistent basis.

Writings-wise, the most realistic thing that might happen is that I'll able to establish a writing routine that has to do with my 'gaming' project. This is a project that I've been working on lately and have been doing some historical background research too.

Challenge-wise, a caveat here is how well I manage to find energy and time to both write and play piano without getting exhausted in the process. Once I come back from work it's hard to do both and is something that I need to take into consideration.

Still, in the end, considering that I have some fairly clear plans for this year, that should give me confidence that it's going to be a good year too. I should be thinking that I'll be able to pull off these projects and not give up on them that easily.

After all, as long as I manage to play piano & write stuff on a basis that is consistent enough, I have a chance of making it. I have a chance of making these projects work, even though especially with the writing project I need to get lucky and work really hard.