volker-80 Reviews

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

The best 45min. series i have ever seen!

[10/10 · 17 December 2013]

Quite recently I have heard / read about this series critically acclaimed success from friends and newspapers. Therefore I've started watching all 62 episodes within a week in long night sessions. This is one of those series where the less you know about it going in, the better! Let me honestly say I've got addicted a few seconds after i've started with the pilot episode. This wasn't a series for me anymore but also a long thrilling movie I couldn't turned off. Perfect story, plots, characters, actors and actresses, filming locations, ... The story is brutal and comedic at the same time. The soundtrack rocks! Creator Vince Gilligan is truly a genius!

BREAKING BAD will set the high standard for a long, long time.

The Fall (I) (2006)

Tarsem Singh - Another masterpiece of directing!!!

[8/10 · 5 October 2009]

I absolutely like this director. He's a real brilliant filmmaker of modern art. I saw all two movies of him. Tarsem knows how to tell fantasy stories - first the psycho-mind scenes (remeber a great Vincent D'onofrio)in "THE CELL" and now the wonderful "THE FALL". The cinematography is superb and the (for me unknown) actors are very good. It's sad that the Academy had ignored this movie at least in the categories: (BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY), (BEST ART DIRECTION),(BEST COSTUME), (BEST DIRECTING),... I know that this movie isn't something for the mass, but it is something for people who believe in fantasy and good storytelling with a dramatic undertone. I hope to see more of Tarsem Singh in the future.

We have an underestimated director alongside us....

Lissi und der wilde Kaiser (2007)

An average animation movie with a stupid script

[5/10 · 30 August 2009]

Bully Herbig is a very well known comedian/actor/director in the German speaking region, because of his funny TV-Show "Bullyparde". Meanwhile he is directing his own motion pictures that are based on the sketches he has done in his own show. But are the Spin-Off movies funny? No, not really! The TV-show sketches(mostly parodies or persiflage's) are mostly hilarious, because of their shortness and concisely coruscating humor. The movies are although in fact they aren't really that long - ironically too long for well placed good jokes in combination with a good story. In this case the script is very, very stupid and ridiculous. The animation is, however, for an European movie not that bad as some critics say. Nevertheless this flick is suffering from a poor script - like it's forerunner "(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode I".

After all my resume is:

Bully Herbig, Christian Tramitz, Rick Kavanian in the "Bullyparade" - YES!!!

Bully Herbig, Christian Tramitz, Rick Kavanian in Spin-Off's of their own sketches - an unfortunately big NO!!!

Oh my god "Wickie und die starken Männer" is coming next...

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Tarantino'S MASTERPIECE !

[10/10 · 25 August 2009]

Tarantino's script and directing is superb and very clever! The Actors (Starring, Co-Starring, Special Appearances) too. Thanks for the intelligent casting of German and french speaking actors for the part of the Nazi's respectively Jewish & french characters. That makes them of course more believable. Because it would make no sense if an American/British actor portrays a German/Austrian soldier; etc. Especially the Austrian Christoph Waltz is tremendously groundbreaking charming, intelligent, evil, sarcastic, cynical... in it's own way. Hopefully he will get a choice to be the next big James Bond villain!!??

By the way this is also a Tarantino Trademark - to cast an actor that is relatively unknown or respectively a sinking star for most of the audience either in the U.S.A. or in Europe.

a few Examples: John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction"

David Carradine in "Kill Bill Vol.1 & Vol.2"

Kurt Russell in "Death Proof"

Tarantino knows their qualities they've achieved in the past and afford them a more or less new kick in their career.

Back to the movie review:

If you blind out all the brutal war crime respectively gore scenes (Tarantino TRADEMARK)(which are by the way also very good) you will find out that after all "INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS" is the new "GREAT DICTATOR" of the 21st century, because of it's antiwar Jewish "revenge" message!

For all Anti-Tarantino's: A Tarantino directed movie is sometimes like a KUBRICK movie - maybe the first time of watching it can disappoint you in a way, or it will bore you to death - YOU HAVE TO WATCH THEM A SECOND OR A THIRD TIME TO ENJOY THE GLORY OF CLEVER Film-making - trust me!

And don't forget a Tarantino flick has it own fans, but this one hopefully will get a lot of new ones, because it's a definite MASTERPIECE (Lt. Aldo Raine closing words ;-) ) of excellent work in each level of production!

P.S. I guess that SERGIO LEONE would kiss QUENTIN'S forehead for go down in movie history!