Documentary, Movies

Searching for Sugar Man

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I learned about this documentary in the wake of a sad event: Its maker, Malik Bendjelloul, committed suicide two days ago. The film won the Oscar for best documentary in 2012. For this reason the death of Malik Bendjelloul was covered in all the major newspapers the world over. The film is about a singer and [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Captain Phillips

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If you are curious how Somali Pirates can simply take over big container ships and demand ransom from the owners, Captain Phillips shows you how to do it: with machine guns and a lot of daring. The opening scene of the film is the weakest part of the film and the final scene is the [Read More]
Drama, Movies

The Grand Hotel Budapest

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Wes Anderson fans will not be disappointed by his new film. While The Grand Budapest Hotel is emotionally not as deep as Moonrise Kingdom, the film has a stronger plot, making it easier to watch. It is also funnier than many of his previous projects. More so than in any Anderson movie, I lost track [Read More]
Movies

12 Years a Slave

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The film manages to grab you on a deep emotional level. I felt like I was myself loosing my freedom to become a slave. Part of why the film works so well is the impeccable acting of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is able to show with quiet facial expression how awful one feels losing what we today [Read More]
Movies, Phantasy

Her

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This is a love story, a kind that you have never seen before. Spike Jonze has created a cinematic event that you should not miss. Just as in Being John Malkovich, Jonze explores deeply philosophical themes by imagining a world where the software that is presently driving Siri (Apple’s iPhone intelligent assistant) has become so [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Of Gods and Men

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Oh, French films, what a hit and miss affair. Of Men and Gods chronicles the faith of seven French monks, who staff a small monastery in Algeria. As militant groups start killing people, the monks ponder whether they should stay and continue the work in the Muslim country. Even when government official become concerned [Read More]
Drama, Movies

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Would The Secret Life of Walter Mitty appeal to a teenage audience? Or can you even bring your kids and they would enjoy themselves? I don’t think so. To connect with this film, you need to be a bit older and have developed the sometimes unsettling sense that your dreams my not come true. I [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Philomena

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50 years Philomena kept a secret from her entire family. When she was 18 and without any knowledge how babies are made she “ate the forbidden fruit” after meeting a boy at a country fair. In Catholic Ireland of the 1950s girls like her would be routinely sent to a convent where the child would [Read More]
Diary, Documentary, Drama, Movies

Helmut Schmidt turns 95

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On the occasion on his 95th birthday (23. December 1918), German public television produced and televised a docudrama of the life of the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Lebensfragen (The big questions of life) is based on a long interview and the reenactment of the highlights of Schmidt’s life. The interview was conducted by the [Read More]