Peter K. Rosenthal Rules!

The funniest* online thing of the last 12 months has certainly been The Onion‘s Film Standard featuring Peter K. Rosenthal. Here are four brilliant movie reviews to get you started:

  1. The Onion Reviews ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’
  2. The Onion Reviews ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
  3. The Onion Reviews ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’
  4. The Onion Reviews ‘Gravity’

* Funny as in I fell from my chair due to laughter-induced stomach cramps.

Movie Lines I Quote Way Too Often

  • Was macht er in Detroit? (Die Nackte Kanone 2 1/2)
  • Wie war das im Mittelteil? (Ein Fisch namens Wanda)
  • Ich kann nicht nach Alderaan; ich muss nach Hause. (Star Wars)
  • Negativ. Wir haben ein Reaktorleck. (Star Wars)
  • Keine Belohnung ist das hier wert. (Star Wars)
  • Whatever. (D.E.B.S.)
  • A good, solid 7.5. (Beautiful Girls)
  • Setz dich. Nimm dir einen Keks. Fühl dich wie zu Hause… (Das Leben des Brian)
  • Das nächste Mal schreibst du einen Aktenvermerk. (Jagd auf Roter Oktober)
  • Das ist nicht Snowflake! (Ace Ventura)
  • Hello, my life sucks. (She’s the Man)
  • Oh boy. (She’s the Man)
  • Man kann davon leben… (Crocodile Dundee)
  • Na dann ist ja gut. (Ronja Räubertochter)
  • Das ist mein Tanzbereich und das ist dein Tanzbereich. (Dirty Dancing)

Movies of Which I Know Pretty Much Every Single Line by Heart

  • Beautiful Girls
  • Clerks
  • D.E.B.S.
  • Happy Campers
  • Imagine Me & You
  • Josie and the Pussycats
  • Das Leben des Brian*
  • Die nackte Kanone*
  • Robin Hood – König der Diebe*
  • Ronja Räubertochter*
  • She’s the Man
  • Star Wars*

*at least the German audio track

PS: “Fit to Die (Part 1)” by Future Is Tomorrow is a rather good Power Metal album.

De-Babelized Movies

Yesterday, I watched The Longest Day. I was surprised to find the whole movie shot in the respective native languages. It added a lot to the authenticity and – given the serious topic of the film – didn’t diminish the experience of watching it at all. In Germany, foreign films are usually dubbed in German. The art of replacing the dialogue has declined enormously over the last three decades. Fortunately, DVDs usually feature the original audio track along with the German one. The only other international films I can think of that have not been somewhat de-babelized are Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, both excellent examples of superb film-making.

Today’s music review is about “Force of Gravity” by Sylvan, a German progressive rock band that delivers flawless music with a bit of sound track atmosphere in the more quiet parts. The album is pretty good and includes stand-out tracks like “Embedded”.