Starbuck-13 Reviews

The Sandman: Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope (2022) Season 1, Episode 11

Great way to integrate the short stories

[9/10 · 19 August 2022]

There are a lot of one parters and short stories in the Sandman comic book series. Instead of letting them slowing down the next season, the showrunners decided to present two of them in-between seasons as a kind of Easter egg. Quite a good idea, as leaving out the stories completely would have been a bad idea considering the relevance of Morpheus relationship with Calliope to the ongoing story.

The episode is definitely worth watching even though the first story about the dream of a thousand cats is quite unusual. But Calliopes story is very well told and adapted, close to the comic but updated to the new millennium. I liked it a lot and don't mind some further short story surprises before the Seasons of Mist.

The Sandman (2022– )

Entertaining but not up to the comic books perfection

[8/10 · 5 August 2022]

Three episodes in, I'm kinda glad there's enough about this show that I like.

As a fan of the comic books, I have to say that I was not actually looking forward to this as there's so much you can do wrong with such an outstanding source material. But the show is close enough to the comics, visually beautiful and most important, more captivating than most other shows today - you want to keep on watching!

Sadly the emphasis on the Corinthian as an evil mastermind seems unnecessary to me, and it's really sad that an essential element of the first Sandman issue - Morpheus sentencing his captor Alex Burgess to 'eternal awakening' - is totally left out. This would have shown how ruthless an Endless will be if treated badly, definitely a missed opportunity. Look it up in the comics, it's that good!!! Also the timeline seems shaky considering Dream was captured for over 100 years now (about 70 in the comics) making Alex and Paul what? 120 years old when he escapes? Also John Dee would be nearly a hundred?

Well about the politics I can live with that but I do understand it's hard for many people to swallow race and/or gender swapping for more than half a dozen characters - while the bad guys all remain white men... It's sad that there will be so much controversy about this that the show could suffer from it.

Oh by the way I love Tom Sturridges performance so far! His German dubbing actor is terrible so I watch the English original, Sturridges voice is close to what I always imagined reading the comics.

The Wheel of Time: Leavetaking (2021) Season 1, Episode 1

"Legend fades to myth..."

[4/10 · 20 November 2021]

... really? This series obviously tries to be The Lord of the Rings, throwing in quotes that try to evoke big emotions like Peter Jacksons Trilogy did. But seeing this first episode, never having read one of Robert Jordans books, I am rather shocked to see how little passion and love to detail the show displays. The leading couple is totally boring, Rosamunde Pike looks like she's just doing a job, the art direction and the choreography of the battle scenes seem totally fake and oh... the CGI... Just bordering on the embarrassing. I mean it's 2021 but this show could take a lot of hints from it's obvious role model from 2001 - 2003. Look at those Trollocs compared to Jacksons orcs! Who is doing the CGI, the original crew of Space Mutiny??? It's a shame that Amazon seemingly wants just to save money with their new flagship series, but with the competition not being idle with quality products like Shadow & Bone or His Dark Materials on the market, this show is going to have a hard time with its target audience... ....

We Can Be Heroes (II) (2020)

Successful with my target audience here are home

[9/10 · 29 December 2020]

My daughter is eleven years old and loved it. Yearning for a sequel. My son is eight years old and enjoyed it as well.

So 100% of the target audience here at home was happy with the movie. Nuff said 🤷‍♂️👍

Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019– )

Captivating

[9/10 · 13 October 2020]

This production manages to find interesting stories in a sport that has been boring for so many years. That's quite a feat.

Formula 1: Drive to survive totally leaves out the race for the championship, because it is no race at all with Mercedes being so dominant. It's sad that it has to do that, but it's a very intelligent decision. The stories of 2nd and 3rd tier teams like Renault, Haas and Alfa Romeo are way more enticing. The production also highlights some of the lesser known drivers that might be up and coming.

All in all a very compelling series that is not about the winning team.

Dark (2017–2020)

Way beyond complex

[9/10 · 16 September 2020]

This is the series that finally made us subscribe to Netflix. We saw the first season on German Sky and knew quickly that we just had to continue...

This series has something for everybody, and a lot of it. It's full of complex story elements slowly unfolding, it's full of personal drama, it's tense and yes, in the end it's a classic tragedy. And a visually compelling one hardly ever seen in a German production before!

My personal most emotional roller coaster ride was the fate of young Mikkel and his parents, being a father of a son of similar age. This was very strong stuff. One of those story elements that I will always be remembering, and that new shows will have to compete with.

About the worldbuilding, yes at some points in season 3, it went so far beyond that even as an avid viewer of Science Fiction and Time Travel shows for 40 years, there were moments that I could hardly follow any longer. This loop story is really convoluted, and I can't really draw a picture of what exactly was happening at some of the crucial crossroads. Still it was very enjoyable and thought provoking to watch, capturing our attention completely which is so much more than can be said about many other shows these days.

So in the end, one of those shows that comes close to perfect. What's missing? A little less complication, a little more action 😁 and it would have been nice to resolve some of those open story danglers (what were those experiments good for in season 1???)

And a happy ending for Mikkel and his parents would have given my soul some peace. This was Leftovers style sadness...

Annihilation (I) (2018)

Far worse than the book

[4/10 · 19 September 2019]

Having finished the book trilogy recently, I was curious how this little known movie was doing in adapting the first book to the screen.

Well it was not doing well.

The hypnotic quality of especially the first book has not been well translated to the screen. Whereas some major elements of the book are totally left out, the director is adding gratuitous violence, blood and gore. Thank you very much that's exactly NOT how to do it. Also the focus is wrong. Annihilation the book is nearly completely about a team of scientists meandering through a nightmare landscape, but the nightmare is in your head, the book is not using cheap effects to create it. The movie puts to much focus on Lena and her husband - just short flashbacks in the book - on shock effects and on putting aliens in a story where they never actually show in the book.

So all in all this is rather disappointing for someone familiar with the books. This could have been a psychodelic experience but the director wasted too much time in focusing on blood, gore and aliens. Maybe they realized that they were not up to something great - that would explain how they rushed the ending to be final instead of speculating on a sequel...

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

There is some good about this ending...

[8/10 · 20 May 2019]

...and not just that, unlike with the books, there IS an actual ending!

Problem of this episode was that it somehow had to get out of the mess the two episodes before had left it in due to their rushed, unbalanced approach and their clumsy writing. This was a feat nobody could get out of unscarred. Still, as far as the second half of this episode goes, I thought it managed to pull it off and gave us a feeling of closure.

Of course, the council to elect a new king - featuring some long presumed dead characters from seven seasons before - was impossible to portray in just 15 minutes. It would have taken a whole season to really show the political intrigue necessary to reach the conclusion shown here. It would probably take half a book. But come on - Bran the Broken? Giving the power to the one who least desires it? Does this not - finally - sound like a plot outline given by the grand George R.R. Martin?

The closer this episode came to its end, the more it felt like this was the ending given by the composer of the Song of Ice and Fire. Brienne - check. Sansa - check. Arya - check. Jon Snow - check. This all felt like it could be the ending Martin is struggling to reach for so many years now.

Weiss and Benioff struggled to reach it at well. The way they reached the ending is the problem, not the ending by itself. They rushed it, and its their own fault that they decided to tell this extra-large story in just eight seasons. That is what - in my eyes - they are most to blame for. Did they do it out of stubborness or out of fear that they could not write a longer, more satisfying version? You decide.

The story they told once they ran out of books was often lacking depth, was often too much "in your face", going for the shock moment instead of reaping the seeds that had been sown. They rushed to the ending, losing plot highlights and character moments as they ran. They did not have the patience to let this story go were it belonged, they forced it - and this is why in my eyes many story elements like size of the armies, powers of the dragons, motivations of the characters went out of proportion.

That's a pity.

Still, it is not fair to blame all this on this one, final installment of a still great series. People are giving this one out of ten, but the mistakes have been made earlier. As I went into this season with a feeling of dread worrying about the characters, it turned into a feeling of dread because of the bad, unbalanced, and I force the point again, rushed, rushed, terribly rushed writing. In this final episode. I got some kind of closure that will suffice for the time being. I was content with the final fate of most characters. Could it have been better? Certainly. But considering last weeks episode, it definitely could have been much worse. The only thing left now it waiting for the official version of the ending printed in a book. George R.R. Martin, long may he reign!

Game of Thrones: The Bells (2019) Season 8, Episode 5

What was GRRMs plot?

[5/10 · 13 May 2019]

To be honest, I could have done without this. So little time to finish all those stories, and here we are with another hour of mayhem and bloodshed. Wish they would have used the time in a more intelligent way. That just for the beginning.

To be fair, we don't know George R.R. Martin's plans for Daenerys Targaryen. In the books, she's lost somewhere in the desert near Mereen for over 8 years now. And yes, she did have to live through a lot lately - losing two dragons, Jorrahs and Missandeis deathes, betrayal within and the news of Jon Snow having a better claim to the Throne. And that miserable string of madness in the bloodline.... Of course you can justify this turn of events that way.

Unless you can't, because it's an overly rushed turn, and it still feels out of character. This whole episode did not reap what has been sown. It just happens.

So this is the pivotal question about Kings Landings big finale: Can you arrange with the Mad Queen turn, of can't you? Everything else hinges on this question. That one single dragon destroys first a whole fleet and then a whole city made of stone - that some character arcs are finished in rather unsatisfying ways - that a city is burned instead of just the Red Keep with the evil witch in it - all this is secondary to the question of Daenerys change of mind.

I would very much like to hear what GRRM had to say about this. If he would have had a similar plan for the mother of dragons, well then it definitely stands as his right to choose where his characters go and how they live and die. Then you can put this final season away as the - not exactly - Hollywood ending of an outstanding story, less complex, less formed out, less intricate, more in your face. But did he? Have such a similar plan for Daenerys Targaryen?

I really hope we one day will find out. Lots of health to George R.R. Martin. Long may be write...

Game of Thrones: The Last of the Starks (2019) Season 8, Episode 4

Now this... Feels rushed.

[5/10 · 6 May 2019]

This probably is what happens if you try to wrap up a story which the writer himself is struggling to finish for so many years now in just six episodes.

The balance still worked in the first three episodes in my eyes with two fantastic slow installments and one action packed third episode. Now this one speeds up in the middle of the episode in a ridiculous level, people being all over Westeros within mere (screen) moments. Stuff is happening which would have taken half a book to tell. I'm not happy with that. At least I hope some of the final seeds sown in this one will be satisfyingly reaped in the last two. But boy, do I hope that someday I will have the chance to read this story finished in a less rushed way in the so very much missed final books...

Game of Thrones: The Long Night (2019) Season 8, Episode 3

Glad that this one's over...

[7/10 · 29 April 2019]

Since the rise of the Walking Dead and its success as first a comic book and later a TV show, there have been literal millions of zombies in mainstream media TV, novels or comic books. I'm fed up with them. I have seen enough for a lifetime. That a horde of them was the main antagonist of a splendid character ensemble like the Game of Thrones cast really was one of the main downside of the show in my eyes (considering that their role was way smaller in the books).

Now people are clamoring that the Night King was beaten too easily in just one episode. They even seem angry that so many of the characters have survived. Well, I never understood the fascination with the undead and am definitely glad the zombie war is over and so many characters are still there to enjoy in the last three episodes!

I have to be frank with this: I'm 46 years old and have the feeling that I've seen more than enough bloodshed and slaughtering on TV for a while life. I really love a show that has characters that feel like actual people and can interact for a whole episode without anybody dying (like 8.02 last week). I have little joy with 78 minutes of constant fighting. I don't understand why people want some bad guy like the Night King to survive even longer to see even more fighting. I actually had to fast forward during some of the scenes cause I did not want to see this hopeless battle any longer. So Arya comes out of the blue and gives us an ending to it all? I'll take it. I don't care how she got there and if she might not be mentioned in any prophesy - I'm just glad it's over and the good guys won... Not to mention that Aryas act of valor kind of WAS foreseen by Melisandre many episodes back in season 3 (wow!).

In the end this was not an episode made for me. It certainly was not bad, and it gave those impatient people who could not get over the first two episodes having so little killing and maiming something to revel in. In the end all is well that ends well. In my book, the only thing missing now is an end to Cersei who has no reason to sit on that throne in the beginning...

Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2019) Season 8, Episode 2

Deeply moving

[10/10 · 22 April 2019]

So this is what the Song of Ice and Fire is all about, why it's so much better than many other franchises: Characterization.

All the fighting and killing is worth nothing if the characters suck. These characters shine. This episode, we were given one final big breather before the fighting and killing starts again. We don't know who will survive. But we were all given a long moment in the calm before the storm with all those wonderful characters - so we know what we will have lost with each and every one of them who will not make it out of the next episode. This was a deeply moving episode, getting better every minute, and just as if I was being there in Winterfell myself I was feeling the army of the dead coming closer until...

I do so much hope this will end well. In some way or another. Kudos to everyone involved in this show, the constant feeling of dread I'm having watching this show does not change the fact that it's simply excellent. And the pacing is wonderful - now only four to go...

Game of Thrones: Winterfell (2019) Season 8, Episode 1

Still good but hard to enjoy...

[8/10 · 15 April 2019]

Yes, I had to immediately watch it, yes, it is still good. The characters of "A song of ice and fire" to me are what the characters of "Lost" have been in the last decade - true three dimensional persons who you want to succeed and, in this case, survive.

But in the end, already since the 7th season, for me watching this show is quite an ordeal. It's because it (together with the books which I read in 2011) has done such a great job building these characters so that now, I am watching every new episode with the constant feeling of dread. That tends to get hard, and for me it made waiting for this new season much easier. I really am not looking forward to the emotional turmoil this final season will be bringing me...

So yes, still high quality and certainly a good start to the grand finale. But with all the bad things lurking - the Night King, Cersei, whatever - I certainly will be very happy once this is finally over. And then I hope that someday, Mastermind George R. R. Martin will be gracious enough to finish the books, which have even more danglers than the TV show ever had...

8 Days (2019– )

Pretty good as it gets very personal later on

[8/10 · 19 March 2019]

Starts out fairly overacted and overly melodramatic. But there's some great character building and even more very interesting twists and turns that make it better and better as it goes on. The ending is not only thrilling but also gave me goosebumps due to the personal drama that unfolds as the world as we know it is ending.

After the brilliant Pagan Peak, this is another pretty good German production made by Sky. Actors whose fame never reached beyond "Tatort" suddenly begin to shine, and when you never know what will happen next, you really start to hope that German television has finally arrived in this new century.

Pagan Peak (2018–2023)

Surprisingly excellent

[9/10 · 5 February 2019]

Not being much of a crime story fan, it was by sheer accident that I watched the first episode at all.

But it quickly earned my attention. Spectacular camera work, beautiful nature setting, a thrilling story and brilliant characters. Watched the whole series with my wife and we both thought it was excellent.

My personal favorite, as I love Austria and the Austrian accent, of course was Nicholas Ofczareks portrayal of detective Winter. He has most of the greatest moments. Add some great music by Wolfgang Ambros - and there you have a surprisingly perfect package that Sky produced.

The Expanse (2015–2022)

Good Science Fiction show getting better

[9/10 · 19 December 2018]

I really like the Expanse. The books, that is. This is a Science Fiction series that has a good balance between action and drama, between space fights and sense of wonder, between a believable depiction of the future and fantastic elements. The TV show manages to bring all this to the screen. The fact that the writers of the books are George R. R. Martin alumni shows in many story elements and this also translates to the show: Like Game of Thrones, it starts out slowly, very close to the book original Leviathan Wakes, and starts to pick up speed only in the second season. The optics often remind me of the 90s cult show Babylon 5, mostly because a lot of the action takes place on clunky space stations, which is a good thing. The characters are not on "Lost" or Game of Thrones level, but they keep on growing and there is sufficient screen time spent on characterization. Halfway through the second season, I also see that the show now dares to move away from the books and to do some deviations that speed up the story. All in all I am very content with this show, as it is probably the best Science Fiction Space show currently on the market. I am not flashed by it, and as I know from the books what is going to happen, though I really enjoy watching I have no hurry to see the new season until it is released on DVD. This might change once they start to stay further from the books - but unlike in Game of Thrones, in this case the authors manage to produce new books on a regular basis so the show will never be able to catch up.

A great thing that the cancelation of the show was canceled. There is a lot of story left to be told, and they would certainly need at least three further seasons to get to some kind of closure which does the books justice...

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

An emotional 10 for an ode to the greatest singer of all time

[10/10 · 24 November 2018]

At first I refused to go. As a Queen fan since 1986, born a little too late to ever see them perform live, I was scared that a movie about my life long idol Freddie Mercury was bound to disappoint me. Today, exactly 27 years after him dying way too early, I went to see the movie after many fans talked positively about it where critics didn't. And yes, as you can see I was not disappointed at all.

I can see that as a biopic, the movie might be too far away from the facts too often. But what fans tend to understand better than critics is that that's not what this movie was all about. In the end, this movie celebrates, in an entertaining and condensed way, the life of the greatest singer that ever existed. A rock star, an incredible performer, an enfant terrible. His personal tragedy is shown, but while there are some scenes and many allusions converning his lifestyle and sexuality, the main focus is on the music, his grand opus and also, the band. Mercury needed Deacon, Taylor and May, and they needed him. And that is what fans want to see. There is a whole generation of Queen fans that "grew up proud in the shadow of the mushroom cloud", and the movie manages to reach us on an emotional level, where we can for a moment forget that those are actors instead of the real band playing at Live Aid. And we can grieve again - one more time - for the musical genius Freddie Mercury, whose light burnt out so long before its time. We grieve for all the songs that we will never hear because Freddie Mercury is dead. So in my eyes, the eyes of a fan, they managed to pull it off. What a pleasant surprise this movie was!

Lost (2004–2010)

That show I will always remember

[9/10 · 21 November 2018]

When it originally came out, I missed it. The idea of a whole show about a plane crash seemed boring. Friends convinced me that there was more to it, that I should give it a chance. When I did, I was already hooked during the first episode, and together with my wife, we binge watched the first season (as a video taped Sky marathon just before season 2 started). We never binge watched anything again after that, Lost was the only show that ever captured our attention like that. For the next five years, we were Lost fans, we hoped and feared for the characters, we wondered what would be happening, we discussed it with friends. Lost, until today, was THE show for us. Yes, we were not enthusiastic about the ending - we thought it was okay though - and we also felt that the first three seasons were better than the second three. And yes, the fact that some major mysteries of the show like "the numbers" were never really resolved in the show - but in the internet instead! - was a major letdown. (they had a WHOLE season in the past and did NOT bother to put in an on-screen explanation for 4 8 15 16 23 42? Still really bothers me...) But in the end, with all of its late weaknesses, the show is still the one I always remember, that I compare everything to, that is the benchmark for TV shows that not a single one has reached. I liked a lot of shows since 2010, but none of it has provided these kind of compelling characters, such an intricate tapestry of stories and backstories, such a constant amount of plot twists and surprises. In the end, Lost may not have been perfect. But it is the one show that will always stay in my mind and hold a special place in my heart.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022)

Bringing the comic book feeling to the screen

[7/10 · 19 June 2017]

Let's be open about "Legends of Tomorrow": Of course the stories are rubbish, and the acting is (with some exceptions) nowhere near Marvel Netflix quality. But this series has something that Arrow (which tries to be incredibly gritty) and Flash (which tries to be incredibly witty) fail to display: Entertainment value! Legends of Tomorrow is like the playground of the Berlantiverse where you can take underused characters or crazy story ideas and make an episode out of it no matter what happened the week before. This is even more so in the second season where the constant need to antagonize Vandal Savage has gone.

The writers can send their heroes straight through the ages from feudal Japan to the Wild West, from the 80s to the future. There is an overall storyline but that is not what makes this series fun: What makes it fun is the snappy banter of Snart and Rory, the crazy jumping through time trying to save the timeline while having no qualms causing time paradoxes themselves (constantly!) and not giving a damn about making sense. Doesn't sound like a modern TV show? Well that's because it sounds like a classic comic book, existing just to be enjoyed and to have people have fun with it.

Yes, the bogus stories and the crappy acting may turn many people off. But I'll take Legends of Tomorrow over any season of Arrow with its abysmal flashback story lines (and its own crappy acting) anytime.

The Leftovers (2014–2017)

A celebration of sadness

[10/10 · 8 September 2014]

Does that make sense? I haven't written a review here for so many years, but this show prompted me to do one. Because it touched me on such an intimate emotional level that I just had to share.

There have been so many shows over the years to make me happy, or angry, some people like their favorite shows to make them scared - but there's hardly ever been a show which has shown the ability to make me so utterly sad. And: It's a good kind of sadness, the one you can revel in and then leave behind because - after all - this IS just a TV show and still, it manages to show you how much you have in real life. And that you have so very much to enjoy it.

"The Leftovers" is about so much more than a mystery disappearance of a huge load of people. It is about the human heart and the feelings that it has to go through. Considering the fantastic finale of Season 1, you really have to wonder if it's a good thing that the show has been renewed for another season cause... hey, Lindelof and friends are not planning to solve the riddle why people have disappeared anyway, so why continue? The first season would do great standing on its own, there's reason to fear that a second season will only water it down.

What is there left to say? Spectacular acting by Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon in particular, superb job as to the musical arrangements (adding to the sadness part is the piano music reminding of "The Virgin Suicides") and a whole lot of good ideas thrown into the story - the Cult (which does seem to make no sense but doesn't every Cult?), the madness, the dogs, some (but not too many) shock effects and so many subtleties to make such a grand mix.

Not a show for everybody. But definitely a show for me. Because of the grand finale: 10 out of 10

SPOILER WARNING: SPOILER WARNING:

Once more about the finale: Showing that there's still hope left in a world of so much sadness made me improve my rating from 9 up to 10 stars. Kevin saving his daughter, Nora finding the baby, Laurie meeting her son - that's just like phoenix from the ashes. Perfect ending to the first season, don't know how to top that... even if there are still many mysteries left.

Underworld: Evolution (2006)

Action slugfest without any inspiration

[3/10 · 31 January 2007]

This was a really disappointing movie. It totally lacked the intricate plot of the first one, substituting it with violent action galore. Not only did the continuing fighting scenes get boring after some time, but they were also relying on cheap shock effects adding nothing to the oh so thin story. It's a shame that the makers did not have the courage to add to the complicated storyline the first movie provided.

There were a whole bunch of question marks left after the film finally ended, but I did not care. One vampire could do this, the other vampire could do that, no consistency at all in what the races were able to perform - as long as the shock effect was guaranteed, any character could do just what came into the mind of the director.

If not for Kate Beckinsale looking great and getting out of her suit in one scene (hot!), this movie would not be worth watching at all. A real letdown after the really well done first movie.

Ich heirate eine Familie... (1983–1986)

Wonderful family show from the 80s

[10/10 · 12 July 2006]

When a divorced woman with three children meets the charming Werner from Vienna, this is the beginning of the most popular family series in Germanys TV history (at least in the last 30 years).

The show mixed new social realities (broken home families) with the old feel-good attitude of the 60s - resulting in a TV series which is timeless in spite of typical 80s furniture and clothes. You can still watch it, not only for nostalgia reasons, but because the new family system gives you the good feeling that every problem can be solved within 45 minutes - and you can be happy in a family even in troubled times like these.

A more than funny supporting cast provides for many laughs. Must see TV for German Generation Xers...

Sin City (2005)

Splendid adaption - but disturbing brutality

[8/10 · 19 August 2005]

You can't blame a movie for being close to the original, can you? Having read most of the Sin City comic books just recently, I sometimes thought that some of the most disturbing portrayals of extreme violence and bloodshed should have been left out in the movie. It is something different if you have a black and white panel in a comic book or if you have moving pictures which make the experience much more alive.

Still, apart from the blood and gore criticism, the film is a very exact rendition of what the comics are about. Harldy ever has any form of book been transferred to the big screen in such an unbiased form - certainly due to Frank Miller being the co-director of the movie.

The movie is fast-paced, the characters are strong and the visual adaption of the comic is breath taking. If you close your eyes during some of the most violent scenes, you have a perfect example of a comic book movie here.

Still, I thought that some of the elements left out in the Hardigan storyline were diminishing the personal drama the character is going through. Maybe it would have been better to show these elements - scenes in which Hardigan talks to his wife or is confronted with Senator Roark in court - and to leave out one or two severed limbs instead?

Silentium (2004)

Splendid black comedy

[8/10 · 26 July 2005]

I really like Austrian humor. Many Austrian comedians display a certain kind of self irony modern German comedians seem to be incapable of. Georg Hader is one of the best Austrian comedians out there, and his movies are unfortunately hardly famous in Germany, which is a real pity.

Hader mixture of black humor, self irony and the wonderful accent provide splendid entertainment. in "Silentium", he targets the catholic church and the high society of the beautiful city of Salzburg.

While Salzburg is a beautiful panorama for this movie, the most important thing about this film are the characters, who - far from being heroes - try to solve a murder mystery with nothing else but courage and surprising integrity - considering they hardly manage to keep their own lives straight.

A wonderful example of Austrian comedy. Highly recommendable!

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Pathetic excuse for a movie

[2/10 · 17 May 2005]

I've seen Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction. There was a lot of blood and gore in these movies, but they had a story - something "Kill Bill" is totally lacking.

I was rather appalled to see this movie so many people are mad about - and to see that it's nothing else but a meaningless bunch of fight scenes, full of blood and bad taste.

Has Tarantino finally lost his mind? Violence for the sake of violence? No plot whatsoever? Fight scenes ten minutes long that make Matrix 2 look like Citizen Kane? What has happened that our society embraces a movie like this which has nothing to show but blood and chopped of arms and feet?