Category: Film

The Circle – review

thegirlinthecafe

The Circle

Do you think you will behave better or worse when you are being watched?

I have been anticipating the arrival of movie version of The Circle. I loved the book by Dave Eggers, it’s about tech and the unlimited power of the internet. I don’t think we are living in the world that Dave Eggers is imagining in his book, but we are definitely moving towards it.

Plot: A young tech worker (Emma Watson) takes a job at a powerful Internet corporation (think Facebook/Apple/Google) , quickly rises up the company’s ranks, and soon finds herself in a perilous situation concerning privacy, surveillance and freedom. She comes to learn that her decisions and actions will determine the future of humanity.

Tom Hanks plays Eamon Bailey, a heavily Steve Jobs inspired leader of the Circle. Emma Watson plays Mae Holland, a young tech worker overjoyed to be offered a job at the Circle. Until she figures out that they might take the whole sharing is caring thing a step too far.

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Toni Erdmann – German cinema at its best

thegirlinthecafe

Toni Erdmann

If a 162 minute long German film doesn’t instantly wet your appetite, I get you. It didn’t really got me hooked at first either. But Toni Erdmann is definitely worth a watch. This quirky German gem of a comedy/drama will make you laugh and think about what is important in life. This is always a good combination in a film if you ask me, so I highly recommend you to see this film if you are brave enough to try something different (which you should do as often as you can by default anyway…). I am quite sure you won’t regret it!

Plot: Without a warning a father comes to visit his daughter abroad. He believes that she lost her humor and therefore surprises her with a rampage of successful and less successful jokes…

Toni Erdmann was nominated for an Oscar and won numerous Awards.

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All the reasons you too should see La La Land

thegirlinthecafe 
Here's to the ones
who dream
Foolish, as they may seem
Here's to the hearts
that break
Here's to the mess
we make

You should see it because …

  • Hey girl, Ryan Gosling is in it.
    Not enough? OK – Ryan Gosling dancing? And singing. And playing the piano? I mean – come on! (It took Ryan Gosling 3 months to play the piano like this, as it is really him playing it in the movie).
  • Oh and Emma Stone. She is fantastic and sings great too. And they have great chemistry together.
  • Yes it is a musical. I don’t like musicals either. But there is less singing in it than you would expect. And the singing that is in it is so beautiful and touching that you forget you’re actually watching a musical.
  • The colours used in this film are wonderful, it’s a visual feast for the eyes.
  • Have a look at those (fairly long but wonderful) one take shots in this film. Some of them took 3 months(!) of rehearsing just to make sure get them right when the outdoor light of the sunset was perfect for the scene.
  • The soundtrack is just perfect.
  • Because they don’t make films like these anymore. (Well appararently they do, but you know what I mean)
  • Like John Legend? He is in it!
  • Because it takes you away from the messed up world we live in for 2 hours of so.
  • And the story (set in modern times) make you think. Which for me is normally the most important thing about a film. (even though there are people who say I think too much …)
  • And last but not least: for the sheer amount of courage it takes to make a movie like this in times when films only seem to care about which special powers the next superhero has.

Plot: “LA-LA Land” is a riveting and uncensored look at Hollywood. It is a story that reveals how friendships sustain us and keep us going. It is a tale that reflects our celebrity-obsessed culture. It is a revealing look at some people’s desire to be loved, adored, and adulated at any cost.

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