Maybe it is because I have a few pregnant women in my life rightnow or maybe it’s because I’ve been having thoughts about settling down, questions about family, marriage etc. in my head lately. And maybe it’s just because it’s a beautiful film, but the new Sam Mendes movie touched me to a dgree it actually hurt.

Imagine this: Two women go to the movies late on Wednesday night. They chose one of those indie movies. It’s playing in a big theater, which is pretty weird to them because it really isn’t a blockbuster or anything and they wonder even more why it is actually shown on the biggest screen. We enter the theater and are not really surprised to find it totally empty. EMPTY. There was nobody but us watching that movie. And then “Away We Go” started.

This film, written by Dave Eggers (who just worked on “Where the Wild Things Are” with Spike Jonze) and his wife Vendela Vida, is one of the most beautiful pieces of cinematography I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not loud but it’s funny. It’s sweet and it’ll hurt you a bit. It’s about two people, their fears about bringing new life into this world and their love for each other. “Away We Go” is painfully wonderful. John Krasinski is hilariously cute. Maya Rudolph is adorably sweet.

So that was the perfect movie night: two girls, a theater all to ourselves and an amazing, amazing movie.

I watched one last night. The thing is: I’m a girl and I like those movies. I do. But this one I like in particular.

“He’s Just Not That Into” You is funny. Not only because Kevin Connolly and Justin Long are in it but because it has my favorite man/woman-relationship-theory in it: You are not the exception. You are the rule. Harsh but true. Of corse “He’s Just Not That Into You” is Hollywood, so of course there’s a happy end (even though not for everybody) but still: it’s not as tacky and cheesy as other romantic comedies.

Why? Let the three main male characters tell you about it:

…tout vas bien! The key sentence in one of my favorite movies of all times: La Haine!

This fantastic film is from 1995. It was directed by the amazing Matthieu Kassovitz with the young and incredible Vincent Cassel playing the lead!

I watched this movie a while ago and was reminded of it by an ad I saw in Vogue. It was for the new Yves Saint Laurent men’s fragrance with Vince as the testimonial! It’s fascinating to see what has become of him. Married to Monica Belluci he is still as mesmerizing as he was 14 years ago!

Really? There’s not much more I can say to this movie but that it’s brillant! If you haven’t watched it, please do so!

As a former student of North American Studies at the FU Berlin, I always had a special interest in US American culture, politics, literature etc. So I’m really looking forward to this movie: Frost/Nixon.

Thinking about Rickard Nixon, there are two things that come to one’s mind: Watergate and Impeachment. After the Watergate affair Nixon wasn’t impeached, he resigned in 1974 in order to escape the public humiliation of the impeachment  proceedings. In 1977, after three years of silence, however, he agreed to do a series of interviews conducted by the rather unknown British talkshow host David Frost. The movie focuses on the time before and during the interviews. The trailer looks more than promising.

Frost/Nixon opens in theaters today!

So he’s looking dapper, right? The Fresh Prince grew up. 40 years old he wears more bling than I do and he’s sooo professional. I’m kinda used to super-professional Americans but with him it’s different. Everything is just smooth. Will Smith is the ever entertaining, always happy, always smiling black guy with pefect teeth and big ears. He is friendly with everyone, answers every question no matter how stupid it is and Germans love him for that. It irritates me because you can’t figure him out. He’s slick like that. No edges, nothing that could hurt anyone. He never seems angry, never threatening, completely harmless. Almost blurry.

To be honest, I never liked Will Smith for all those reasons.Until it dawned on me that he is a black guy that made it in Hollywood. And kids, let’s be honest: there are not too many of his kind. Then I started to have respect for him. Will Smith is probably the only actor in Hollywood that transcends color lines. He is the only actor who plays roles that don’t have a color attached to them. He is not your house hold black guy, you know, the kind of actor you go for when a role needs a certain “spice”. He is a superstar. And that, whether you are feeling his acting skills or not (I can’t make up my mind when it comes to that), is an achievement I have major respect for. Not only because he is black, but because it’s hard and he did it with some decency. (He still might be gay though. And I think he is with Scientology. Maybe. I don’t know. He is just too blurry.)

This is the trailer for “Seven Pounds”. His new movie.

Gentrification. Big word. Easy to explain. You have an urban area. Sometimes crime-ridden, definetly run-down and straight up poor. But: rent is low so, among drug addicts, criminals, the homeless, regular factory workers and those people that just can’t afford another place to live, you’ll find many artists, young designers, just a bunch of creative people. This peculiar mix creates an energy everybody wants to be a part of. So along with the artists come galleries. Those attract a crowd interested in art. This crowd again has money. The area becomes hip, trendy, vanguard. And because everybody wants to be hip and different, everybody wants to live there. Rent starts rising. Long-established tenants can’t afford to live there anymore. So slowly they leave. The area changes. Oversimplified.

If you live in Berlin you are most likely to have heard of this term “gentrification” in connection to Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg. The formerly young, cool, creative, hip, trendy areas of Berlin. When you talk about New York City, Brooklyn would be a good example. And most recently the Lower East Side.

CLAYTON PATTERSON is someone who witnessed the gentrification of the Lower East Side. Since 1979 he has documented the change brought to this infamous neighborhood, armed with only his camera and the will to show the world that what sounds so nice and innocent can actually be a violent process. Film makers Ben Solomon, Dan Levin and Jenner Furst made an impressive movie not only about an inveterate lateral thinker but also about the “downfall” of a neighborhood feared and famed for its creativity, lawlessness, art, music, vibrant energy and headstrong characters. This is the trailer for CAPTURED:

And here come the good news: CAPTURED will premier in Berlin on January 3rd at the Babylon on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz! It’s a must see, people! So let’s all go together! Until then, you might as well check out CAPTURED’s myspace-site!

Sometimes, the revolution is televised!

Some of you might have seen this. I find it so impressive  that i actually wanna watch this movie even though I was never into the whole Trekkie thing.

The beautiful Zoë Saldana as the ever seductive Uhura, Zachary Quinto (the guy plaing Sylar in Heroes) as the young Spock. J.J. Abrams directing… this is gonna be exciting.