My band Forkalyst has its next live gig coming up: next week, 8.11.2024 at the BrauArt pub in Düsseldorf.

I created a new photo journal entry.

The summer vacation in Annecy. Düsseldorf fun fair. A trip to the Eifel with Udo. And a trip to Berlin with Zoe.

It’s shocking, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this. What’s also shocking is Johnny Depp’s belly-free shirt. And of course all that blood and gore. I just like those sort of gory special effects. And this type of movie. It’s comfort food. This definitely deserves its reputation.

That was a well rounded and satisfying Bond. It looked great, the plot made sense, it features the usual cool Bond dialogue, it didn't take itself too seriously, and some spectacular action scenes. Can't ask for more. Good one!

Solid continuation of the Craig-Bond series. But the action, story, dialogue was all not as good as in Casino Royale. But it has a similarly great opening credits song.

Daniel Craig has luminous blue eyes and Sony product placements are all around. But apart from this, Casino Royale was spectacular and entertaining. The stunts and action were all top notch. The poker game was good. The characters were great. It has some very cool dialogue. And overall, the story was fantastic, too. Can recommend!

This didn't fully convince me: maybe it was the occasional drop in pace or a sudden strange dialogue or scene of acting. But overall, this was a very solid movie. Had a great story, really succeeded in portraying the protagonist's paranoia, and was atmospheric, too. And this from 1972. Tutto bene!

I enjoyed this. It had me constantly wondering and wanting to know what happens next. I really liked the quirkiness of it all. But then in the end it left me kind of empty and wondering “why all this?” and “what for?”. All the stories had the same subjects it dealt with, but I couldn’t find any purpose (if there is any), and why it had to be three episodes. So I had the suspicion the movie is just weird for weirdness sake. But maybe that’s just Lanthimos’s thing and I shouldn’t complain. What never seems to disappoint, though, is how he films everything. It’s just fun to watch. Emma Stone was superb once again, but so were all the other actors.

Another Mondo Bizarr flick. Reading the summary, I was actually expecting something way worse than this. This was actually high quality and looked a lot like more famous American movies from that time. But rightly so, it's not as highly regarded: it's just all a bit off and wacky at times. But that doesn't mean it's less entertaining! Just more bizarre. The chase scene is fantastic, the musical part at McD is just great and the ending is just the whimsical cherry on top.

Another classic where I don't know whether I had seen this as a teenager. But I really couldn't remember any scenes. This was fantastic, though. Apart from obvious technological or cultural clues, you wouldn't think this is such an old movie. It really holds up.

Now, the film actually manages to portrait Christine as and actually evil car. The stunts are top-notch - oh my, the whole scene at the gas station! - and the special effects when Christine repairs herself are an absolute sensation. Great characters, too - it's been quite clever how the evilness progressively affects Arnie's own mood.

Bonus was seeing this on the big screen, getting to fully experience the film's awesome sound and music.

Has tons of atmosphere and Nicolas Cage as Longlegs is actually really creepy. Lovingly filmed. And great acting. I thought the plot pace was a little odd (it's high-paced in the beginning and the end, and in the middle quite slow), and the resolution was not all that satisfying. Overall, though, I was really into it, and didn't notice how time flew by at the cinema.

One more month of photos.

A family trip to Belgium, Folkerdey, quite a few things in between, and of course our camper motorway crash false start into the summer holidays.

Es ist ja nicht so, als hätte ich mich nicht schon öfter mit diesem Thema auseinandergesetzt. Aber diese Buch hat mir den notwendingen Anstoß gegen keine halben Sachen mehr zu machen und mich vollständig vegetarisch zu ernähren. Diese Buch ist natürlich keine leichte Kost. Aber das sollte es bitte auch nicht sein, wenn doch die industrielle Fleischproduktion und Massentierhaltung so ein riesen Haufen barbarische Scheiße ist.

Der Autor selbst geht trotzdem noch recht diplomatisch an die Sache ran, und versucht nicht einem (s)eine Meinung aufzudrücken (obwohl er diese trotzdem für sich sehr klar formuliert). Und mir gefiel auch, dass verschiedene Stimmen und gar Kompromiss-Lösungen beschrieben werden. Für mich aber lässt das alles nur eine Schlussfolgerung zu.

Ist die Verwandlung eine Metapher für eine (schwere) Krankheit, habe ich mich gefragt. Jedenfalls fand ich diesen Klassiker sehr interessant und unterhaltsam. Die unterschiedlichen Reaktionen der Mitmenschen auf seine Verwandlung sind einfach gut und glaubhaft beschrieben. Und zudem fand ich Kafkas Schreibstil sehr ansprechend. Hat diese Buch auch vielleicht “Die Fliege” inspiriert?

Another very entertaining part of the trilogy. The story – especially at the end – has its weaknesses IMHO (and I couldn't help but be reminded of Once upon a Time in Hollywood). But this just looks fantastic once again, has great acting, and a lot of excellent scenes.

There’s a new photo journal entry up!

The circus came to town. Frankeninferno. Camping in Perlenau. And a visit to the Neaderthal museum.

This really drew me in. It gets increasingly menacing and suspenseful. I think this movie really succeeds in showing how frightening (dangerous even) and really uncomfortable it can be as a young woman (waitress) amongst a horde of men.

Acting was 👌. Hearing some Aussie accent was, too.

Anyhow, I'll now have a Dickin's Cider (sorry! 🫣).

Liked how this looked. Loved Mia Goth's acting, in particular her long monologue and that end scene where she makes faces for a minute or two. The plot could have been a little more focused, but overall a well-rounded, well-entertaining film.

You like photos? Here are some more!

The birthdays continue. It's Easter. Another studio visit. Beyond Tellerrand conference. A poker night. And the all the stuff in between.

I liked Anya Taylor-Joy's performance. And James McAvoy is good, too. But the movie as a whole did not grip me. I just didn't find it suspenseful. The main character is not menacing enough. And there's way too much going on, and as a result the plot suffers. A bit of an eye-roller.

I’m on a roll!

Three birthdays and a studio visit.

Such a great plot and so well executed. I assume this is a pretty low budget film, and all the more respect to make it so entertaining. Spooky, suspenseful, with great acting and some nice gory special effects.

It was late when we started this, and I didn't pay full attention the whole time. But this was still a fantastic surprise. A great story with a really creepy dude and a lot of suspense. Never seen it in a movie old movie like this. But it did remind me of Psycho. Generally this was pretty Hitchcock-like. And Hitchcock I like. And so do I like this one. Recommended!