The Force awoke - and I'm almost asleep

It's 20 past 11 pm, and we've just come home after watching Star Wars. Almost everything I had heard about it was positive, but I'm a little bit... well, I can't say disappointed for I've actually had no expectations at all. If I had to rate it, I'd give it three out of five stars.

We watched the movie in 3D, which was a good decision because of the x-wing fighter scenes. The special effects were brilliant, of course. And yes, BB-8 is oh-so-cute. But the screenplay? Without giving away too much, I had the feeling I've seen everything before. Maybe not so politically correct and stylish (well, the bagle-do was stylish in its own right, don't you think?), but it's all been there before. All the time I thought, "Ah, they want to show us that women can fight, too."

If you haven't seen it yet - go. Bring popcorn and enjoy yourself. It's okay. Add a buck and watch the 3D version. But don't think they re-invent the wheel.

You're a Kite, Mr. Bond, flying into a Hurricane...

We went to see "Spectre"  last night. We had no choice but to go yesterday evening, because we wanted to see the original version, not the dubbed one, and this was the only time they showed it.

Have you ever wondered why most Germans speak a really horrible English? It's because all we get is dubbed. Movies, TV shows... I remember I was really thankful when I got my first DVD player so I could watch my favorite movies with the English sound. The German translation is often crap; most puns get simply lost.

There's another reason why I prefer to go to the movies in the US. You drive to the cinema, leave your car in the parking lot (usually for free), get yourself some coke and popcorn and watch two or three trailers and then the movie begins.

Over here in Germany it's a little different. It's way more complicated. At least that's how I feel. And it's expensive.

You drive to the cinema and try to find a parking space nearby. Usually, you need to pay for it (we spent 4,50 EUR last night). We got the tickets online (12,00 EUR each, plus 1,20 EUR for doing the job ourselves). It always takes a while till you get your coke and popcorn just because they never open up all the counters they have even when the place is crammed. Medium coke and medium popcorn (shared, not each) - say goodbye to another 9,99 EUR. Sum it up.39,69 EUR. That's the equivalent of 45 bucks.

When they say a movie starts at 8, it usually doesn't. Take your time. They'll show you some trailers and ads anyway. Last night, they took it too far. The movie finally started at 8.46! I was mad. Seriously. I didn't feel treated like a customer. I felt treated like a consumer.

So why are there still people wondering that there are people who prefer to download movies from the internet? 

Oh, the movie. Yes, I liked it in general though Daniel Craig falls into the Pierce-Brosnan-syndrome (he shows only one expression. All the time.) and I really missed Judi Dench as M, but I really loved the elegance of the very first scene - it seems to take forever until the first cut. People who like fluffy white cats will have their moment, and overall... it's Bond! What else do you need to know?

Maybe that I liked "Skyfall" better...