Sucker Punched.

So. Two days ago I went to see the new movie 'Sucker Punch'.

Worst. Decision. Ever.

However. I thought I'd share my thoughts with you anyway. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder who is famous for movies like '300' and 'Watchmen'. After watching 'Watchmen' (pun) and '300' I was quite amazed at the way that Zack Snyder chooses to utilize the palette of special effects that is available to filmmakers nowadays. And after seeing some trailers of Sucker Punch I wanted to see it as well. How can you resist? The content of the trailer was more or less semi-nude teenage girls with swords and all sorts of firearms fighting - hold on tight now – dragons, zeppelins, samurais, gangsters, Nazis, terminator-like robots and other stuff as well. In short: It looked awesome.

Before I ventured into the theatres, I read some reviews of the movie in some of the Danish newspapers. They gave it 4/6. Four out of six. Four. What the f***? So I thought to myself: 'Hey, if teenage girls with guns killing robots and zeppelins can get 4/6, it can't be anything but great'.

The film begins with a girl whose mother dies (Baby Doll); she is then left in the custody of her guardian. He then kills her little sister and when she tries to shoot him, she is institutionalized in the 'Lennox House' and institution for the mentally insane. In there, she finds out that she will receive lobotomy in five days. All of a sudden, the scenery changes completely and we are now in a luxurious brothel where the patients (who, for some reason, are all attractive young women) are now showgirls and dancers. Apparently, this is supposed to resemble Baby Doll's perception of the institution. Or perhaps, to some degree, wishful thinking.

In here, the girls have to dance or die. Pretty simple. And when Baby Doll has to dance, she imagines herself somewhere completely different. Often it's a place with dragons, samurais or undead clockwork-Nazis. This is where Snyder shines. The battles between the girls and whatever opponents are the wet dreams of any special effects student. We're talking fire and explosions en masse. Add the girls in the school uniforms and you have the trailer.

In her first 'dream' she meets a samurai who tells her how to escape. Apparently she needs a map, fire, a knife and a key. And of course, a mysterious object. She then receives a katana and a gun with five little charms attached to the handle. This dream, I suppose, symbolizes that she knows how to escape herself.

She then teams up with four of the other girls: Amber, Sweat Pea, Rocket and Blondie. I would like to point out that Blondie is played by Vanessa Hudgens. You know, the happy 'I-love-dancing-and-singing' girl from High school Musical.

Even though I haven't seen High School Musical 3, I think it's safe to say that her acting skills haven't been improved. Perhaps the contrary. Anyways, after teaming up with the other girls, she instructs them on how to break out. They then begin to search for the 4 items needed to escape the institution. For every item, there's a 'dream' in which they act as a team of tactical Special Forces team. And their leader is the samurai guy from the first dream. Just in different attire each time.

I couldn't help but feel that the audience was being ridiculed. I mean, how can anyone take this seriously? Yes, the special effects are cool and shiny, but when the acting, characters, dialogue and even the plot is so insignificant, it's hard to keep focusing for 2 hours. As James Berardinelli from reelviews.net so gently put it:

"The film is an excuse for directorial excess. It's an exercise in public masturbation for Zack Snyder, who doesn't even have the decency to strive for the R-rating that would at least allow for the exploitative, gratuitous sex, nudity, and violence that Sucker Punch desperately needs. Where's the giant blue penis when we need it?"

Where is the giant blue penis, Zack? Where!?

In attempt to conclude this horrendous movie, I will like to point at the soundtrack and the effects as the positive aspects. But they are simply not enough to carry this movie, and it ends up boring you pretty quickly. I can only hope that Snyder will cast his actors from skill rather than looks next time and write a script that includes more than just explosions and schoolgirls. All that potential, right down the drain. The movie seems like an odd mix of borderline soft-core porno and a fantasy movie greatest hit. With a cool soundtrack though. Perhaps this was the thought? Perhaps not.

What have I learned from this? Read more than one review next time, and when a movie seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Giants and Guinnes.

A lot of people in the western world have probably heard of (or even participated) the Irish holiday 'St. Patrick's Day'. It's the day where everybody wears large hats and green leprechaun-like clothing. The 17th of March is the day in the Irish calendar and for some reason, many european countries (and USA) are celebrating it as well. I went to Ireland to experience this phenomenon of an holiday which has spread throughout western countries like an green, drunken plague.

One of the places in Northern Ireland that I had to experience was the natural phenomenon 'Giant's Causeway' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant%27s_Causeway) on the northern coast. It was a tremendous experience to see an untouched and unsoiled natural beauty. Coming from Denmark, I had never seen anything like this before. We also went to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which connects one of the smaller 'islands' to the mainland. Set up by fishermen to catch salmon. I am very afraid of heights, so it was quite a fear to overcome walking on that bridge.

All in all, I can only pray that places like Giant's Causeway are being preserved because it is truly spectacular.

Ever since I wrote a written assignment on the IRA and The Troubles when i was in high school, I have been fascinated by the Irish culture and history. (Watching an episode about The IRA on the show; 'Deadliest Warrior', contributed to that fascination as well). So when I went to Ireland, there were some places that I wanted to go. There included Derry and Belfast in Northern Ireland as those cities were some of the hotspots during the troubles. And actually still is, though not as concentrated as back then. I took some pictures in both Belfast and Derry depicting the remains of the conflict:

I would like to quote a guy from Arizona that I met during my stay in Belfast:

"In Dublin, they take St. Patrick's Day very seriously".

I can only agree with him. Depending on where you are from, there will always be certain events or holidays that are celebrated throughout the country. I am from Denmark and I can safely say that I have NEVER seen such dedication among the danish people aside from '92 when Denmark won the EC in football. St. Patrick's Day in Dublin is a party. A party where everyone, regardless of race and country, is invited.

Ireland and Northern Ireland are some of the most fantastisc countries that I have ever visited. The historic, cultural and natural heritage of these countries are amazing. I can highly reccomend anyone to visit Dublin, especially during St. Patrick's Day and I will definitely be coming back. And because a picture says more than a thousand words: