9

Do you know the game Machinarium? That’s exactly what kind of game this film would be. And it would have been a good PC or console game. But as a film it’s a bit boring to be honest. If I hadn’t been on the exercise bike at the time I watched it, I’m not sure if I would have watched it until the end.

Maybe that is also a bit because I’m always a bit prejudiced when it comes to animated movies and not in a good way. Shark tale ruined it for me forever I reckon (except for Disney films). But this one seemed to be different. It looks darker, is a Science Fiction setting and produced by Tim Burton. And I’m quite fond of Tim Burton, he does good stuff most of the time. Weird, but good.

This film is about a group of rag dolls which are living on Earth after all humans died due to the world’s machines killing them. In the final days of human kind a scientist gave life to said rag dolls. 9 is one of them and he leads the small

Chaos and the Calm - James Bay

James Bay is one of these new authentic singer-songwriters, whose honesty and simplicity make them special and successful. His music is so personal you can tell, because you can hear real emotion in his voice, when he sings.
 

I’ve heard some of his live performance and he’s so good. Definitely one of these people who aren’t just good on their records.

I love how he made his way to the release of his debut album "Chaos and the Calm" through

Kingsman: The Secret Service

I don't know, what I expected really, I just wanted to see this film after I've seen the trailer. It sounded fun and thrilling - and it was fun and thrilling, but at some points just too much "fun".

The film tells the story of a secret service oranisation called Kingsman. They're recruiting new members for their training programme, just as a big thread emerges. The tech genius Richard Valentine is planning kill a big part of the world's population. The Kingsman learn about the crime and so Harry Hart, played by Colin Firth, and later some of the recruits spring into action to stop him and his deathly network.

Kingsman could have been an elegant, humorous spy thriller. A better James Bond film, then the actual new James Bond films are. Don't get me wrong, I like the James Bond franchise. But since Daniel Craig took over they lost their allurement and humour.

Fifty Shades Of Grey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

I'm not as excited as everyone seems to be about the "Fifty Shades Of Grey" film, I haven't been fond of the books either. But I do actually really, really like the soundtrack.

I was especially thrilled to hear new music by Ellie Goulding, because I really like her. "Love Me Like You Do" by Ellie Goulding is the title song to the film and it's a catchy pop song. But a bit repetitive if you ask me, but that's the case with loads of songs. It's still a tough song and it gets stuck in your head immediately - a real Ohrwurm, as the Germans would say.

99 Francs

This was definitely one of the oddest films I have seen in a long, long time. The film should be satire on the modern advertisement industry, but it felt more like an endless drug trip. Not that I know how that feels, but that’s how imagine it to be like.

The film is about the advertisement designer Octave Parango, who’s played by Jean Dujardin, who you might know as the Oscar winning actor from “The Artist”. He has a very highly paid and easy-going job, which allows him to have a life full of parties, drugs and one-time sexual relationships. But he starts to rebel against himself and his life and kind of destroys everything or not. I didn’t really get it and the film’s got two endings, so that’s been confusing.

The good thing about the film was definitely the acting. It was totally believable and I wasn’t sure if they weren’t really on drugs. But I didn’t like the story line, even though it might show how insidious the marketing industry is.

So feel free to watch it and tell me I’m wrong with disliking it, but don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Coming Up For Air - Kodaline

New music alert. A few of the songs have been released already some weaks ago, but the rest of it just came out this Friday (in a lot of countries at least).

It's the Irish band's second album. They can already look back on two years of success after releasing their debut "In a Perfect World" in 2013. And I'm sure there's a lot to come with this brilliant new album.

It still sounds like them, it's got the typical Kodaline choruses and vibes, but the general sound got altered a bit. There are more synthesizers on the tracks, therefore the melodies got more electronic and the songs got more dimensions and depth. To be honest, I'm not sure if I really appreciate that. Don't get me wrong, I've listened to the album a few times now and there's loads of great songs on there, I just feel that they lost a bit of their special tone and are going for a sound that's more mainstream and going in the direction of Coldplay.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Here's to another Oscar nominated film from this year's list. Surely not as important as the last one I told you about ("The Imitation Game") and you can't compare these two films at all, but I'm happy that the makers of "Guardians Of The Galaxy" get recognised for their work. It's nominated for "Makeup and Hairstyling" and "Visual Effects".
I am happy to see that, because for me it is the second best Science-Fiction-Comedy I've seen so far. I have to say second best, because "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" will forever be my favourite in this genre.

Marvel's "Guardians Of The Galaxy" is telling the story of Peter Quill alias Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket Racoon, Groot und Drax the Destroyer. They meet because they're all after an artefact which is called the orb. Every one of them wants it for a different reason. They are soon to find out, that they have to form a team to save the galaxy from an evil common enemy. They're something like the misfit Avengers if you ask me.

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Today I want to add a new section to my blog. As I've been writing about what I saw or heard for the last - well - years actually, I thought it's time to add a section about what I've been reading. I'm talking about books of corse not all the magazine articles, Tweets and Facebook posts I'm reading, even though that could be funny as well. But I reckon you've got more from hearing about books I liked; then you can read and enjoy them yourselves.

The most recent book I finished reading is "The Circle" by Dave Eggers. I wanted to read it for a while, because I heard people talking about it and that it's the new "1984" and a good read. And now I've read it I've got to say it is in a way a similar story to the dystopian novel by George Orwell, just in the even more modern world and with a bit less necessary imagination.

Here's the blurb so that you get an idea of what it is about:
"The Circle runs everything - all your internet activity in one easy, safe and visible place. No wonder it is now the world's most powerful and influential company. So when Mae Holland lands a job at its glittering California campus,
she knows she's made it. But the more her ideals and ambitions become aligned with those of the Circle, the closer she comes to dicovering a sinister truth at the heart of an organization seeking to remake the world in its image..."
The book is definitely a good read. The story is well told and you want to know what's really going on, because there's always a secret to be found out about. And what I think is best about the book is, that it is upsetting and it makes you think. It makes you think about your own internet behaviours, the social networks, the power the companies who own them have and if that is right.

The story of the Circle is so near to the truth and yet so far away and it makes aware of the problems we might face in the future with all the knowledge we can get access to through the internet. And don't gt me wrong, I love the Internet, I love the Social Networks and I wouldn't want a world without them. But I think we should be a bit more attentive of what you or others can do with it. And we should be aware, that there's always a bad side to a good side.

The Imitation Game

Finally, finally, finally I've seen The Imitation Game. I wanted to see it from the first time I heard about it and that was quite a while ago as I follow nearly every (film related) step Mister Cumberbatch does because he's my favourite actor. And the film got released in August already. But hasn't been out in Germany until last week so I was happy to be able to see it in Berlin last weekend (it's not showed in my town's little cinema). And I was stunned by the beauty of this film.

For those who haven't heard about the film yet: It's about Alan Turing who was a Mathematician and a pioneer of computer sciences. He's been a specialist in cryptography and helped the Allies to win the Second World War by decoding the Enigma Code, which was used by the Germans to send messages which couldn't be read by the Allies. The film narrates the story of him and his team and especially focuses on the problems they had doing this amazing work. It also tells Turing's background story as it is disturbing. He's been gay in a time where that was illegal and even though he was a genius and helping his country and the world, they treated him very badly.

Artist Rendezvous: Rae Morris

Hello, hello. I'm back after an extended break for Christmas and New Years. I hope you all had great holidays.

And I've got a feeling that it's going to be a good year, at least when it comes to music and also films. There's so many things I'm excited about and in this post I'll be telling you about one of them.

BBC Radio 1 releases a list of artists to watch every year. And on the Sound of 2015 list, there's one person who's music I really, really like.

Her name is Rae Morris and she's a British singer-songwriter. Last year loved her voice on Clean Bandit's Up Again, but I didn't think about her. Then I also heard her single Closer on the radio, but I didn't know it was Rae's song and now I'm so happy I rediscovered her (thanks to Radio 1).

Interstellar

Finally I found time to write about this film, I wanted to do it for weeks. Now I finally sat down to write this post with the music of "Interstellar" in the background. I thought it's fitting to listen to the music of the film I'm writing about, especially because it's one of the things which makes the film wonderful. But more about that later.

I don't know whether it makes sense to write a lot about the plot or not, thus if you want to know bout the plot read it over here on IMDb. Or maybe you know it already, because you've watched the film as well. I'm just going to tell you, that the film is about interstellar travel, worm holes and black holes, saving humanity and about how people's lives are affected by it.

"Interstellar" is not just a film, it's an experience - and it's a mind-bending one. I'd say the film is not for everyone, because it needs a bit of thinking and it gets quite emotionally heavy in some parts, but for me it was just perfect. It got something in it for every part of me.

"A December Without..." Tag

Hello my friends,

that's something very different to what I normally do, but I got tagged to do this by the lovely Luu, whose Blog you find over here.

The question is "What are the five things you can't live without in December?". According to the theme of my blog I changed it a bit and turned it into five films and five songs, I hope that's alright.

The five films that are my favourites for December are of corse Christmas ones. Here you go:

1. Miracle on 34th Street
2. Love, Actually
3. Christmas Vacation
4. Joyeux Noel
5. The Santa Clause

And the five songs are of corse Christmas songs as well:

1.  I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day by Wizzard
2.  White Christmas by Bing Crosby
3.  Thank God It's Christmas by Queen
4.  Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid
5.  That's a special one: It's a Christmas song mashup by Bastille, which they did last Christmas and I really like it. You can't listen/watch it below.

  

I don't want to tag anyone specific, but if you read this post and have a blog on your own, feel tagged by me! (And link your posts in the comments, thus I can read them.)

I hope you all enjoy watching Christmas films and listening to Christmas songs these days. What are your favourites? I'm happy to read your comments.

VS. Other People's Heartache Part III - Bastille

Here's something I was looking forward to for quite a while now. Bastille's new mixtape VS. (Other People's Heartache Part III). As you presumably know they're one of my favourite artists and therefore I'm always very excited to hear new music from them.

Even though it's less really new songs than ecpected it is still brilliant! I'm lying, it is six and a half new songs, only the first one were heard on other records in different versions previously. The half one is the cut off rap part from Torn Apart, don't get confused. The songs just don't feel new to me, because most of them were played on radio before and I listened to them a lot, because I really liked them and couldn't stop.

Midnight in Paris

Normally I don't get Woody Allen's films and I don't like them, but this one was amusing, fascinating and quite brilliant.

Somehow I've got to thank Netflix for making me watch it. I wondered why it always showed up in my suggestions on what to watch, especially because all I watched on Netflix lately were some Sci-Fi/Fantasy films, Orange is the New Black, Sherlock and Doctor Who. But maybe it was the latter which brought it up, because of the time travel. But seriously, I wanted to watch it after Allen won an Oscar for writing it, but I forgot about the film and I'm glad I've finally seen it.

I already mentioned time travel, maybe I should tell you a bit about the film. It's said to be a romantic comedy, but it's not what you think, it's not that typical boy meets girl and falls in love one. It's more of an adventure, a journey.

Every Other Freckle - Alt-J

Today I've got a little music advice for you again. It's about a song by a band I really like. In summer they released their second album and I want you to give the latest single of this album a chance, because it is fantastic.

The song I'm talking about is called "Every Other Freckle" and the band is Alt-J. It's a very unique song, has an electronic vibe and is somehow unsettling, but very, very cool. You can listen to it on Spotify at the end of this post.

Orange Is The New Black

When I was ill and in bed a few weeks ago, I decided, that it's time to watch a new series. And as I just started my Netflix subscription back then, I thought it might be a good idea to watch one of their original series, as I heard a lot of people saying they're great.

So I started watching "Orange Is The New Black" and I got hooked. Two weeks later I had watched all two seasons and can't wait to see the third one, when it arrives.



The series is about Piper Chapma, who's bisexual and living in New York with her (male) fiancé. She's sentenced to 15 month in a women's prison for transporting drug money for her former girlfriend Alex Vause, an international drug smuggler. The crime happened ten years ago and by the time Piper got sentenced he already lived with her new partner in New York and had a totally different life as a manager.

Never Been Better - Olly Murs

It's the fourth studio album by one of my favourite artists, English singer-songwriter Olly Murs. It's called "Never Been Better" and it's a good one! The song writing is great and it's a bit of a redefinition of the musician Olly Murs, but without loosing his happy and charming personality.

The album is even better than the last one from two years ago (the title's kind of right there), but honestly I still love the first one the most. But maybe I just have to get used to the "new" sound.

There's a variety of songs, some of them make me dance around the flat ("Did You Miss Me", "Wrapped Up", "Stick With Me") and some of them nearly make me cry ("Nothing Without You", "Tomorrow").

The 1975 at Täubchenthal Leipzig

I finally got to see The 1975 live. I had to wait a long time for that. At first I wanted to see them in February with a friend. In the running up to that concert I really got into their music.

I listened to some of their songs before, but at the point when I knew I was going to see them I started to really listen to the whole album over and over again and I kind of fell in love with it.

But then, my right foot got into the way, because I broke it and I wasn't able to attend any concerts for half a year or so. Therefore no The 1975 for me.

Starter For 10

Here's to me getting easily obsessed with people, especially with actors who I really like. When I see one who's acting is brilliant I want to watch every film they're in.
That's why I watched "Starter for 10", because of James McAvoy and Benedict Cumberbatch.

It's been fun but not brilliant at least not very deep. But you can have a nice evening watching it.

The film is about a boy, Brian (James McAvoy), who gets into college and has to say goodbye to his old friends and settle in in the new environment. To get together with some people and because he's been a fan of University Challenge since he was a little boy, Brian joines the quiz team of the university, which takes part in the challenge.

He falls for the pretty Alice (Alice Eve), who is also on the team, but he also likes to spend time with Rebecca (Rebecca Hall), with whom he has more in common, but she's a little Geek and on the first look not as pretty as Alice.

Not only is Brian torn between these two women, but he's also caught between his new life at a posh college and his old working-class life at home.

The set up shows the struggles of the life of a student, not the academic ones, but the ones concerning the private life. And it's very relatable, when you are or have been to university. 

This relatability and the funny and also the sad scenes troughout the film make it a good watch, even though you'll know very early in the film, how it will end. 

Passenger at Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt

Last weekend I've been to Frankfurt with one of my best friends to see Passenger. When she at first asked me, if I wanted to come with her, I was a bit sceptic if I really want to. Don't get me wrong, I really, really like Mike’s music. I just didn’t know, if his concerts were fun, because it’s such chilled out and quiet music. But I decided to give it a try.

And I wasn’t disappointed. It was a brilliant mix between his very slow and sad songs and some of the livelier song, which got the audience clapping. And he didn't just play his new songs, but also some of his old ones.

He also sang a song (“Start a Fire”) with his support act – The Once. They were really good as well and had nice voices, even though I wasn’t too much into their music – genre-wise. A bit too folksy… But Passenger and them together sounded great, you can watch a little video of it at the end of this post.