Jedis, Bellas, and Jaegers await you in our Winter Movie Guide. Plan your season and take note of the hotly anticipated indie, foreign, and documentary releases, too.
In Episode 3 of Season 2 of "The Grand Tour," Jeremy Clarkson asks if Europe's glamour set still needs jets and helicopters to fulfill a busy day of breakfasting in St. Tropez, skiing in the Alps, and dining in Turin, or if they'd be better off with a car. Episode 3 is available Friday, Dec. 22.
In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma, a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.
Director:
Wolfgang Becker
Stars:
Daniel Brühl,
Katrin Saß,
Chulpan Khamatova
For two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
Director:
Oliver Hirschbiegel
Stars:
Moritz Bleibtreu,
Christian Berkel,
Oliver Stokowski
A high school teacher's experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.
Young nurse Sissi lives a secluded life, seemingly entirely devoted to her patients at Birkenhof asylum. Her first encounter with ex-soldier and drifter Bodo has a lasting impact. He causes... See full summary »
Director:
Tom Tykwer
Stars:
Franka Potente,
Benno Fürmann,
Joachim Król
A look at Germany's terrorist group, The Red Army Faction (RAF), which organized bombings, robberies, kidnappings and assassinations in the late 1960s and '70s.
Director:
Uli Edel
Stars:
Martina Gedeck,
Moritz Bleibtreu,
Johanna Wokalek
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. Lola has 20 min to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run. Written by
Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
There are many spirals in the film (stair cases, bar behind phone booth etc). This is because director Tom Tykwer was a fan of 'Alfred Hitchcock''s Vertigo (1958). See more »
Goofs
(at around 1h 03 mins) The windshield is not cracked while the man flies toward it, but a second later, right before he impacts the glass, it is clearly cracked. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
[subtitled version]
Narrator:
Man... probably the most mysterious species on our planet. A mystery of unanswered questions. Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? How do we know what we think we know? Why do we believe anything at all? Countless questions in search of an answer... an answer that will give rise to a new question... and the next answer will give rise to the next question and so on. But, in the end, isn't it always the same question? And always the same answer?
See more »
Crazy Credits
The end credits run backwards, from top to bottom. See more »
Somebody Has to Pay
Performed by Bobo and The London Session Orchestra
Contains a cello sample of "Black Hole Sun"
Performed, arranged and produced by Susie van der Meer and Ben Lauber
Lyrics by Susie van der Meer
Music by Susie van der Meer See more »
I have seen the movie several times, and each time I find new details and nuances that add to the story and the movies as an audiovisual delight. Friends of mine introduced me to the sound track at first on a high quality stereo system. It was amazing. I went home and ordered the CD. I am no great fan of techno music but that first track made me hold my breath because of its beauty. It felt like sitting in a cathedral and listening to a simple choral. I know, awkward comparison, but...
A few observations of my own.
Lola's first "run" reveals that her father believes she is not his biological daughter, calls her a "cuckoos egg". And it's quite possible, since we see her mom in all 3 "runs" talking on the phone with someone other than her husband. Lola is devastated. All three "runs" feature the bank security guard, trying to calm down Lola, giving her support. Every time they have intense eye contact, some silent understanding. He once even greets her with "Da bist du ja, Liebling" ("there you are, darling"). Quite strange for a bank employee to call his boss' daughter that, don't you think? We also see early on that he might have a heart condition.
In the last story segment, we see the guard again, in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Lola caught a ride, for a change, to her meeting destination with Manni. Miraculously, the guard's heart condition improves as his hand reaches toward Lola's. The medic, at first annoyed ("what the heck are you doing here?") is puzzled. Lola's answer to his question, as she reaches for the guard's hand is: "Ich gehoer zu ihm." Very important, I think. Call me silly, but somehow I have this feeling that he might be her illegitimate father. As bank employee he might well have had contact with Lola's mother, and even time to have an affair with her, considering the workaholic dad being gone so much.
"Ich gehoer zu ihm" is badly translated in the subtitles as "I'll stay with him" while the German would better translate into "I belong to him." And that is something Lola could well have realized after her dad abandoned her with the accusation of being a cuckoo's egg.
The guard is also in the beginning of the movie quoting famous soccer coach Sepp Herberger's "the ball is round". It's in the league with Yogi Berra's famous word creations. The ball is round meant for Herberger, that anything can happen as long as the game is on. Expect the unexpected. Since this is a movie that wants the viewer to "think" about possibilities, why not go all the way?
19 of 24 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
Legendary sword choreographer Tim Weske teaches our "IMDb Show" Jedis the basics of lightsaber combat. Plus, we break down the origins of some iconic Star Wars creatures.
I have seen the movie several times, and each time I find new details and nuances that add to the story and the movies as an audiovisual delight. Friends of mine introduced me to the sound track at first on a high quality stereo system. It was amazing. I went home and ordered the CD. I am no great fan of techno music but that first track made me hold my breath because of its beauty. It felt like sitting in a cathedral and listening to a simple choral. I know, awkward comparison, but...
A few observations of my own.
Lola's first "run" reveals that her father believes she is not his biological daughter, calls her a "cuckoos egg". And it's quite possible, since we see her mom in all 3 "runs" talking on the phone with someone other than her husband. Lola is devastated. All three "runs" feature the bank security guard, trying to calm down Lola, giving her support. Every time they have intense eye contact, some silent understanding. He once even greets her with "Da bist du ja, Liebling" ("there you are, darling"). Quite strange for a bank employee to call his boss' daughter that, don't you think? We also see early on that he might have a heart condition.
In the last story segment, we see the guard again, in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Lola caught a ride, for a change, to her meeting destination with Manni. Miraculously, the guard's heart condition improves as his hand reaches toward Lola's. The medic, at first annoyed ("what the heck are you doing here?") is puzzled. Lola's answer to his question, as she reaches for the guard's hand is: "Ich gehoer zu ihm." Very important, I think. Call me silly, but somehow I have this feeling that he might be her illegitimate father. As bank employee he might well have had contact with Lola's mother, and even time to have an affair with her, considering the workaholic dad being gone so much.
"Ich gehoer zu ihm" is badly translated in the subtitles as "I'll stay with him" while the German would better translate into "I belong to him." And that is something Lola could well have realized after her dad abandoned her with the accusation of being a cuckoo's egg.
The guard is also in the beginning of the movie quoting famous soccer coach Sepp Herberger's "the ball is round". It's in the league with Yogi Berra's famous word creations. The ball is round meant for Herberger, that anything can happen as long as the game is on. Expect the unexpected. Since this is a movie that wants the viewer to "think" about possibilities, why not go all the way?