Brenda Martin erscheint mit aufgeschnittenen Händen in einem Krankenhauses und behauptet, dass sie nur knapp einem Kriminellen entkommen konnte, der ihr Auto gestohlen hat. Was sie zunächst verschweigt: ihr Sohn, der auf dem Rücksitz geschlafen hatte, befand sich noch in dem Wagen.
vor allem aufgrund eines zeitweise langweiligen Hauptteils und einer richtig schlechten, kaum realistischen "Auflösung" ist Freedomland kein gelungener Mysterie-Thriller, für den man nicht einmal ins Kino gehen muss, es sei denn man möchte nun unbedingt wissen, warum genau das Ende so misslungen ist.
The Simpsons Movie
Willkommen in der Stadt Springfield mit ihren gelben Einwohnern. Die Gemeinde lebt voller Frieden in verstrahlter Eintracht. Leider nehmen sie es mit der Mülltrennung nicht so genau und trotz einer dramatischen Vorhersage von Grandpa Simpson schmeißen sie all ihren Dreck in den anliegenden See. Bis auf die umweltbewusste Lisa scheint dies niemanden zu stören bis man eines Tages kurz vor der Katastrophe steht. Die Stadtversammlung beschließt das keinerlei Abfälle mehr in den See geschüttet werden darf. Das gilt natürlich nicht für Homer. Der hat ein Schwein zu seinem neuen Haustier gemacht und dessen Exkremente sammelt er in einen Stahlsilo. Als der zum bersten voll ist weiß Homer erst nicht wohin damit. Nicht lange überlegt, schmeißt er dieses Blechteil in den See und zettelt damit ein richtiges Schlamassel an. Die EPA, eine Organisation die für die Regierung arbeitet, setzt nach einer Absprache mit Präsident Schwarzenegger ganz Springfield unter eine luftdichte Glocke. Da sich dieser Umstand negativ für ganz Amerika auswirkt, raten Verantwortliche der Regierung das die gesamte Stadt vom Erdboden verschwinden soll. Wie kann Homer, wo er doch für diese Katastrophe verantwortlich ist, seine Heimat retten ? In dem flieht und nach Alaska auswandert ?
Die Töchter des chinesischen Gärtners
Die junge Li trifft auf der Insel des berühmten Botanik-Professors Chen ein, der dort inmitten einer prachtvollen und exotischen Pflanzenwelt lebt. Sie möchte bei dem Professor ein Praktikum absolvieren, wird allerdings nicht gerade mit offenen Armen empfangen. Unter seiner Autorität und unter der Isolation auf der Insel leidet auch seine Tochter An, die sich über die Ankunft der jungen Studentin freut. Eine Begegnung, die beider Leben verändert. Denn aus anfänglicher Sympathie erwachsen zärtliche Empfindungen, eine verschwiegene erotische Anziehung und schließlich leidenschaftliche Liebe. Und das in China, einem Land, in dem Homosexualität in den 80er Jahren noch als absolutes Tabu gilt. Als einzige Möglichkeit, unter dem Deckmantel der Normalität zusammen zu bleiben, scheint nur die Heirat von Li mit Ans Bruder in Frage zu kommen. Durch diese fatale Entscheidung gerät das familiäre Gleichgewicht aus den Fugen und die Liebenden balancieren fortan auf einem gefährlichen Grat…
Ocean 13
Danny Ocean and his Eleven are back in Las Vegas. This time, Danny tries to talk sense into Willie Bank, the owner of a series of highly rated "5 Diamonds" hotels who double-crossed one of Eleven, Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), on a hotel deal causing the man a heart-attack and coma-like state. After the ruthless and arrogant Bank suggests that Reuben "rolls over and dies", Danny and his team decide to take the Bank's stunning new casino out of business on the big opening night.
The third Ocean's movie is great fun and a wonderful mixture of genres that works as comedy/crime/thriller/revenge. Vegas is spectacular. The jokes are funny, the dialogs are witty, the directing is first class with the split screens, unusual angles, and the camera that always moves fast but does not rush. The acting is terrific. The absence of Julia Roberts and Katherine Zeta Jones is more than compensated by the presence of great Ellen Barkin who is a better actress than two and a hot beautiful woman, the real "cougar". Besides Ocean and his Eleven (who all have fun with their parts but this time Carl Reiner was simply outstanding), it was good to see David Paymer as an unlucky (or was he?) hotel reviewer and Eddie Izzard as a famous computer hacker. Did I mention that Al Pacino took the role of Willie Bank and he was excellent playing in his quiet mode without screaming which I like a lot? There are certainly the holes in the story and the absence of logic but I did not care a bit. "Ocean's Thirteen" is not about logic or plausibility or realism, it is all about fun and entertaining and it entertains admirably. It is a very successful and enjoyable sequel in the series of Ocean's movies and we all know that good sequels don't happen too often.
The third Ocean's movie is great fun and a wonderful mixture of genres that works as comedy/crime/thriller/revenge. Vegas is spectacular. The jokes are funny, the dialogs are witty, the directing is first class with the split screens, unusual angles, and the camera that always moves fast but does not rush. The acting is terrific. The absence of Julia Roberts and Katherine Zeta Jones is more than compensated by the presence of great Ellen Barkin who is a better actress than two and a hot beautiful woman, the real "cougar". Besides Ocean and his Eleven (who all have fun with their parts but this time Carl Reiner was simply outstanding), it was good to see David Paymer as an unlucky (or was he?) hotel reviewer and Eddie Izzard as a famous computer hacker. Did I mention that Al Pacino took the role of Willie Bank and he was excellent playing in his quiet mode without screaming which I like a lot? There are certainly the holes in the story and the absence of logic but I did not care a bit. "Ocean's Thirteen" is not about logic or plausibility or realism, it is all about fun and entertaining and it entertains admirably. It is a very successful and enjoyable sequel in the series of Ocean's movies and we all know that good sequels don't happen too often.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
I'd come across this book by John Boyne several times while browsing the book website from Indonesia. The back was rather fascinating. It said, more or less: this is a book about the journey of a nine-year-old boy. One day he arrives at a fence. Just hope you never have to cross such a fence. That's it. Quite interesting ..
I felt disappointed after a page or three. If I'd realised it was a children's book earlier (although it says on the back that it's not a story for nine year olds), perhaps that would have helped. But after three pages I 'got' what the story was about and had a pretty good idea about how it would end.
You see, the book is about a boy called Bruno who lives in Berlin. His parents are very strict. He's not quite sure what it is his father does for a living, but what he does know is that it involves wearing splendid uniforms. One day, Bruno comes to his room and finds the maid there, who is busy packing his stuff. The family is moving, because Father has a new job. He has been chosen for this very important job by an extremely important man called The Fury.
Are you getting it yet? I suddenly made the link with the fence and the striped pyjamas and just knew where it was the family would be moving. Then again, if you're reading this, you can't see the cover of the book with its distinctive greyish-blue stripes, so perhaps it's not all that clear yet.
The family moves to a place called "Out With", into a house where there's nothing to do for Bruno and his sister. From the window of his room, Bruno can see a fence. On the other side of the fence there are people that nobody in the house seems to want to talk about. They all wear the same striped pyjamas and matching cloth caps, and they seem to do nothing much except stand around and look sad. Looking at these people makes Bruno feel sad too, and uncomfortable, but he isn't quite sure why.
After some weeks, Bruno is bored enough that he decides to go exploring like he used to do at home, even though it has been strictly forbidden him. He walks along the fence and meets a boy who lives on the other side. The boy is called Shmuel and wears a striped pyjama like all the others on that side of the fence. They get to talking and find out they have the same birthday! A friendship develops that Bruno keeps hidden from his family.
so, the end is : the job of the father is a soldier from Hitler, and pyjamas is uniform of people in the "Out With" (Auswitch), so sad ending ..
I felt disappointed after a page or three. If I'd realised it was a children's book earlier (although it says on the back that it's not a story for nine year olds), perhaps that would have helped. But after three pages I 'got' what the story was about and had a pretty good idea about how it would end.
You see, the book is about a boy called Bruno who lives in Berlin. His parents are very strict. He's not quite sure what it is his father does for a living, but what he does know is that it involves wearing splendid uniforms. One day, Bruno comes to his room and finds the maid there, who is busy packing his stuff. The family is moving, because Father has a new job. He has been chosen for this very important job by an extremely important man called The Fury.
Are you getting it yet? I suddenly made the link with the fence and the striped pyjamas and just knew where it was the family would be moving. Then again, if you're reading this, you can't see the cover of the book with its distinctive greyish-blue stripes, so perhaps it's not all that clear yet.
The family moves to a place called "Out With", into a house where there's nothing to do for Bruno and his sister. From the window of his room, Bruno can see a fence. On the other side of the fence there are people that nobody in the house seems to want to talk about. They all wear the same striped pyjamas and matching cloth caps, and they seem to do nothing much except stand around and look sad. Looking at these people makes Bruno feel sad too, and uncomfortable, but he isn't quite sure why.
After some weeks, Bruno is bored enough that he decides to go exploring like he used to do at home, even though it has been strictly forbidden him. He walks along the fence and meets a boy who lives on the other side. The boy is called Shmuel and wears a striped pyjama like all the others on that side of the fence. They get to talking and find out they have the same birthday! A friendship develops that Bruno keeps hidden from his family.
so, the end is : the job of the father is a soldier from Hitler, and pyjamas is uniform of people in the "Out With" (Auswitch), so sad ending ..
2:37
Die Tür schließt sich, man hört nur dumpfe Töne und langsam rinnt Blut unter der Spalte auf dem Gang. Es ist 2:37 und die Todessekunde von …
Dies ist die Geschichte eines Selbstmordes, der sich im Kreise sechs junger Menschen begangen wurde. Das Geschwisterpaar Melody und Marcus sind beide durch die Unart ihrer Eltern in verschiedene Arten der Psychosen verfallen. Steven ist durch seine angeborenen Behinderungen zum Außenseiter der gesamten Schule erhoben worden. Sean ist ein drogensüchtiger Homosexueller. Luke ist ein Narziss mit verborgenen Problemen und Sarah ist dessen dumpfe, magersüchtige Freundin. Wer hat wohl die größeren Probleme ?
Dies ist die Geschichte eines Selbstmordes, der sich im Kreise sechs junger Menschen begangen wurde. Das Geschwisterpaar Melody und Marcus sind beide durch die Unart ihrer Eltern in verschiedene Arten der Psychosen verfallen. Steven ist durch seine angeborenen Behinderungen zum Außenseiter der gesamten Schule erhoben worden. Sean ist ein drogensüchtiger Homosexueller. Luke ist ein Narziss mit verborgenen Problemen und Sarah ist dessen dumpfe, magersüchtige Freundin. Wer hat wohl die größeren Probleme ?
Harry Potter und der Orden des Phönix
Das fünfte Schuljahr in Hogwarts hat noch nicht angefangen und schon steckt Harry Potter bis über beide Ohren in Schwierigkeiten: Er muss sich vor Gericht verantworten, weil er in den Ferien unerlaubt gezaubert hat. Nicht nur das macht Harry schwer zu schaffen. Warum haben sich Hermine und Ron nicht bei ihm gemeldet? Wieso glaubt das Zaubereinministerium nicht, dass Lord Voldemort wiederauferstanden ist? Zu allem Überfluss ist auch noch die neuen Lehrerin für Verteidigung gegen die dunklen Künste ein großer Reinfall - Harry hat von Anfang an nur Ärger mit ihr!
Life of Pi
Ein schönes Buch. Es handelt von einem indischen Jungen, der nach einem Schiffbruch gute zweihundert Tage auf einem Rettungsboot mit einem Tiger zusammen überlebt.
Ein zentrales Thema des Buches ist die Religion, das aber in einer angenehm friedlichen und toleranten Weise behandelt wird. Weder fanatisch atheistisch, noch fanatisch religiös. Aber auch nicht kühl und agnostisch. Eher warm, verständig und trotzdem kritisch.
Das Einzige, was ich ein wenig störend fand, war die Episode mit der seltsamen Insel. Ansonsten ist die Geschichte realistisch unglaublich.
Ein zentrales Thema des Buches ist die Religion, das aber in einer angenehm friedlichen und toleranten Weise behandelt wird. Weder fanatisch atheistisch, noch fanatisch religiös. Aber auch nicht kühl und agnostisch. Eher warm, verständig und trotzdem kritisch.
Das Einzige, was ich ein wenig störend fand, war die Episode mit der seltsamen Insel. Ansonsten ist die Geschichte realistisch unglaublich.
Spiderman 3
Here are my notes, if you care to listen.
1. Too many characters. Either this is a story about Pete and Harry as the antagonist, or it's about the black suit. The Sandman should have been cut or held for four. I realize you needed him to enrage Peter into jealousy, and thus enhance the use of the suit and also see what this does to a man, but it was too complicated. You could have accomplished that with Harry. The love triangle was great. Use jealous. The revenge/we-never-caught-the-killer stuff was weak. The film’s theme was diluted because you used the "kitchen sink" approach. That never works. Rookie mistake.
2. Mary Jane had an interesting story line that was neither explained or followed through. Did Harry force her to say she was in love with someone else, or was she actually falling back in love with Harry? That kiss seemed convincing to me. That said, the ending wasn't as sweet as it could have been because this wasn't made clear. Of course a girl would dance with a guy who saved her life, but what's she going to do after that? Call up Harry's cousin Rich Johnny when things get rough? Come on MJ, we need a little more clarification on intentions.
3. The black suit came from outerspace. So? What does this have to do with anything? I know. I know. You're going to say that sometimes things don’t need to be explained. I agree. But I thought, and tell me if I'm wrong, that conflict should come out of character. If this is true, Peter should had done something boastful (as I'm assuming his tragic flaw was pride) in the beginning, i.e. when he's on the web with MJ and they're stargazing, she could say, "I'm thirsty" and he could say, "Don't get up." He could web some change into a coke machine (nice product placement) and then use a treetop to pop the top, this causes the switch to flip on a lab experiment (use your scene from sandman and scrap that story line), which makes the goo drop from whatever experiment they're doing. (Here’s where you also set up the bell stuff… it was too easy that he went to the church. Not explained, so therefore not anticipated and therefore no tension). That way, his use of Spidey-powers to showboat drink acquiring would have caused the goo to drop and hence, propelled us into plot with meaning and substance. Meanwhile MJ is put off by his boasting. You know how chicks hate macho moments on dates. It blows the romance. And here we go. It’s minute 6 and the story is off and running.
1. Too many characters. Either this is a story about Pete and Harry as the antagonist, or it's about the black suit. The Sandman should have been cut or held for four. I realize you needed him to enrage Peter into jealousy, and thus enhance the use of the suit and also see what this does to a man, but it was too complicated. You could have accomplished that with Harry. The love triangle was great. Use jealous. The revenge/we-never-caught-the-killer stuff was weak. The film’s theme was diluted because you used the "kitchen sink" approach. That never works. Rookie mistake.
2. Mary Jane had an interesting story line that was neither explained or followed through. Did Harry force her to say she was in love with someone else, or was she actually falling back in love with Harry? That kiss seemed convincing to me. That said, the ending wasn't as sweet as it could have been because this wasn't made clear. Of course a girl would dance with a guy who saved her life, but what's she going to do after that? Call up Harry's cousin Rich Johnny when things get rough? Come on MJ, we need a little more clarification on intentions.
3. The black suit came from outerspace. So? What does this have to do with anything? I know. I know. You're going to say that sometimes things don’t need to be explained. I agree. But I thought, and tell me if I'm wrong, that conflict should come out of character. If this is true, Peter should had done something boastful (as I'm assuming his tragic flaw was pride) in the beginning, i.e. when he's on the web with MJ and they're stargazing, she could say, "I'm thirsty" and he could say, "Don't get up." He could web some change into a coke machine (nice product placement) and then use a treetop to pop the top, this causes the switch to flip on a lab experiment (use your scene from sandman and scrap that story line), which makes the goo drop from whatever experiment they're doing. (Here’s where you also set up the bell stuff… it was too easy that he went to the church. Not explained, so therefore not anticipated and therefore no tension). That way, his use of Spidey-powers to showboat drink acquiring would have caused the goo to drop and hence, propelled us into plot with meaning and substance. Meanwhile MJ is put off by his boasting. You know how chicks hate macho moments on dates. It blows the romance. And here we go. It’s minute 6 and the story is off and running.
Der Alchimist
Dies ist das erste Buch das ich von Paulo Coelho gelesen habe, es wird aber ganz bestimmt nicht das letzte sein. Die Erzählstimme des Brasilianers ist außergewöhnlich. Die ganze Zeit über wurde ich an Antoine de Saint-Exuperys Werk "Der kleine Prinz" erinnert, obwohl die beiden Werke auf den ersten Blick kaum etwas gemeinsam haben. Dennoch teilen sie einige ganz zentrale Eigenschaften. Sie fließen förmlich über von außergewöhnlicher Weisheit. Diese Weisheiten sind in beiden Büchern in eine wirklich nette Rahmenhandlung verpackt, wenngleich der Alchimist weniger "kindlich" anmutet. Obwohl es sich bei beiden Büchern um relativ kurze Geschichten handelt, sind die Erzählungen "sehr langsam", soll heißen über das ganze Werk hinweg fühlt man sich in einer eigenartig beruhigten Stimmung.
Zum Inhalt: Ein junger Schafhirte träumt von einem Schatz der nahe bei den Pyramiden vergraben ist. Als dieser Traum wiederkehrt, ist er sehr verwirrt und bricht nach einigem hin und her auf, diesen Schatz zu suchen. So einfach jedoch wie er erhofft hatte ist es denn doch nicht und so entwickelt sich der junge Hirte immer mehr zu einem der ganz großen Weisen. Die Entwicklung des Charakters ist außergewöhnlich schön geschildert, und jeder Schritt der den jungen Mann weiter bringt wird leicht nachvollziehbar erzählt und so gefasst, dass der Leser diesen Schritt gemeinsam mit dem Hirten vollzieht.
Zum Inhalt: Ein junger Schafhirte träumt von einem Schatz der nahe bei den Pyramiden vergraben ist. Als dieser Traum wiederkehrt, ist er sehr verwirrt und bricht nach einigem hin und her auf, diesen Schatz zu suchen. So einfach jedoch wie er erhofft hatte ist es denn doch nicht und so entwickelt sich der junge Hirte immer mehr zu einem der ganz großen Weisen. Die Entwicklung des Charakters ist außergewöhnlich schön geschildert, und jeder Schritt der den jungen Mann weiter bringt wird leicht nachvollziehbar erzählt und so gefasst, dass der Leser diesen Schritt gemeinsam mit dem Hirten vollzieht.
Glück im Spiel
A professional poker player whose astounding luck at the table fails to translate into his lonesome love life attempts to win the World Series of Poker while simultaneously earning the affections of a beautiful Las Vegas singer in a high-stakes emotional drama from L.A. Confidential director Curtis Hanson and Munich screenwriter Eric Roth. When his personal problems threaten to distract him from what could be his biggest win ever, seasoned poker pro Huck Cheever (Eric Bana) finds comfort in the company of singer Billie Offer (Drew Barrymore). Upon preparing for the biggest card game in the country, however, Huck soon realizes that his problems have only just begun when he finds that his opponent at the table will be none other than his estranged father, L.C. (Robert Duvall), a poker legend whose mythical reputation makes him a more than worthy opponent for his troubled son.
Die Hard 4.0
Hacker Matt Farrell, not knowing who he is working for, finishes work on a computer program and sends it to Mai Linh, who advises her boss and lover, Thomas Gabriel, that they can now proceed with their evil plan. The criminal mastermind begins killing hackers by exploding their computers remotely, and commencing the initial stages of a computer attack on US government networks.
Elsewhere, a young couple is making out in a car. Detective John McClane breaks it up; the girl turns out to be his estranged daughter Lucy. She leaves in a huff, refusing to acknowledge her father's last name but calling herself instead by her mother's maiden name, Gennaro. Meanwhile, The FBI command center's computers are momentarily interrupted, leading Deputy Director Bowman to order a roundup of all the hackers who could conceivably have been involved. McClane is sent to pick up Farrell, and his arrival interrupts Gabriel's remote detonation of Farrell's computer. Gabriel's assassins have the apartment under surveillance, and open fire. McClane kills several thugs who enter the apartment. The thugs finally blow up Farrell's computer, destroying the apartment. McClane and Farrell escape down the fire escape, McClane killing various henchmen on the way and Farrell marvelling at McClane's heroics.
McClane makes it to Washington DC with his charge. At the temporary FBI office, Farrell notices the pictures of the dead hackers on the wall. Farrell and McClane are redirected by the FBI to another office so that Farrell can be interrogated. While they are on their way to the the new office, Gabriel begins downloading a huge quantity of significant data from some mysterious government source onto his own computers, and shuts down the network controlling the traffic signals. Chaos on the roads ensues. McClane, Farrell, and their police escort attempt to contact the police to have a route opened for them, but have their radio communication intercepted by Gabriel and Linh, who direct them to an ambush. McClane suspects their communication has been intercepted, tests Linh by asking her a trick question, and reveals he knows she's a fake. Gabriel gets on the radio and advises McClane he knows everything about him, and wipes out his 401K. Our heroes attempt to evade the ambush, but are set upon by helicopter. McClane and Farrell escape the ambush in a cop car, and are chased into a tunnel by the helicopter. Gabriel opens the traffic on both sides of the tunnel, sandwiching our heroes in a massive pileup in the middle. McClane drives the cop car straight out of the tunnel and jumps at the last second, launching the car into the helicopter and killing the thugs.
McClane and Farrell escape on foot. As they try to contact the FBI via cell phone, they discover that the communication networks are down. Farrell reveals that he recognized some of the dead hackers from their pictures, and that he innocently wrote some code that may be being used in this computer attack, which appears to be a three-stage plan to cripple the United States by attacking its information infrastructure. The next stage will be to take out the power grid; this cannot be done remotely but requires intervention at the actual physical plants. Farrell reconfigures the cellphone to use a different network to allow them to communicate. McClane and Farrell commandeer an abandoned car. By pretending to be the son of its owner in a medical emergency, Farrell gets OnStar to remotely start it for them. They set off for the main power station controlling the Eastern seaboard.
Linh and a group of henchmen, disguised as FBI agents, infiltrate and take over the power station. As they commence shutdown procedures, McClane and Farrell arrive at the station. Their presence is detected, and henchmen dispatched to dispatch them. McClane and Farrell fight their way to the station's command center, McClane fights Linh, and Farrell manages to abort the shutdown sequence. McClane finally kills Linh by driving a truck into her and down an elevator shaft, where the truck explodes at the bottom. Seeing that the shutdown hasn't taken place yet, Gabriel calls Linh's cell phone. McClane answers and tells Gabriel that his plan has been foiled and Linh killed. Enraged, Gabriel redirects all the natural gas in the pipelines to converge on the power station. Farrell notices this on one of the computer screens, and he and McClane take shelter just before the station explodes. The destruction of the station causes a massive power blackout over Washington and much of the Eastern seaboard. Lucy McClane is caught in an elevator in the blackout.
Farrell and McClane go to visit "The Warlock" in Baltimore, who Farrell describes as an Internet Jedi. Traffic being a nightmare, McClane decides to fly the helicopter that Linh and her henchmen had used to arrive at the power station. McClane reveals he had a few flying lessons, but never completed the course; they have a rough landing in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Gabriel and a few select henchmen kill his other remaining employees and, travelling light, set out in a semi-trailer with a mobile computer command center in the back.
The Warlock lives in his mother's basement where he has set up his own "command center" -- an impressive collection of computers running on his own generators, interspersed with geek memorabilia. The Warlock is suspicious of the police, but reluctantly agrees to help. He reveals that Gabriel was formerly a highly-placed FBI computer security director, responsible for building much of the system, who discovered its vulnerabilities to attack. When Gabriel brought these vulnerabilities to the attention of his supervisors, ultimately interrupting a meeting of the Joint Chiefs to do so, he was denounced and publicly humiliated. The Warlock shows McClane and Farrell that one facility is still running and drawing massive power loads. This turns out to be the facility from which Gabriel was downloading data, and which Gabriel and several thugs have now infiltrated and taken over. Gabriel is alerted to Warlock's intrusions; he traces the intrusion back to Warlock's basement command center, and commandeers Warlock's computer and webcam to communicate with the group in Warlock's basement. He shows McClane images of his daughter in the elevator, and advises that he is going to get her. McClane sets off to find and kill Gabriel; he tells Farrell to stay behind, but Farrell insists on helping him. Lucy is brought to Gabriel at the data facility; a chip off the old block, she fights all the way before being tied up.
McClane and Farrell communicate with Bowman and show him an image of Gabriel. Bowman is dismayed; he tells them that the facility still running was designed by Gabriel as a failsafe in the event of an attack on the nation's infrastructure; it contains a backup of all the financial data from stock markets, corporations, and government agencies. Gabriel apparently intends to download this information onto mobile hard drives, allowing him to undetectably siphon off billions of dollars.
McClane and Farrell head to the data facility, and Bowman orders an F-35 fighter plane dispatched to the facility. Gabriel is alerted to their presence, and obtains the go codes for the fighter plane by accessing the military's data banks. Farrell, using one of the computers at the facility, manages to encrypt all the data that Gabriel has downloaded, making it useless to them without the decryption key which he alone knows. He is subsequently captured by Gabriel's thug and brought to the control center where Lucy is also captive. Lucy advises him he will need to reach down and find a bigger set of balls. McClane kills the various thugs sent to stop him, and communicates with Farrell via one of the thugs' walkie-talkies. Gabriel attempts to talk McClane down but is unable to do so. He puts Lucy on the radio, to "talk some sense" into her father, but she aids him by telling him that there are only five bad guys left. The bad guys escape in two vehicles: Gabriel, two thugs, and the captives in an emergency services van, and one thu
g in a semi-trailer carrying their portable computer control center. McClane jumps onto the back of the semi-truck as it leaves the facility, climbs to the cab, shoots the driver through the door, and takes over the truck, chasing the remaining bad guys and their captives in the van. In the van, Gabriel orders Farrell to unlock the data, but Farrell refuses, knowing that this is his only bargaining chip and that Gabriel will kill him once he has the data back.
Gabriel realizes they are being chased. He uses the go codes to tell the F-35 pilot to destroy the semi-truck. The F-35 fires various missiles and machine guns at the truck, virtually destroying it and a large portion of a highway overpass. As the truck begins to slide backwards down a destroyed ramp, McClane falls out of the cab and down the back of the ravaged trailer. The plane is about to deliver the coup de grace when it is damaged by a chunk of falling pavement. McClane falls onto the plane's wing. The pilot ejects, McClane slides down the spiralling plane and jumps onto another section of destroyed ramp, sliding down the ramp as the jet crashes and explodes just behind him.
The van carring the bad guys and captives enters a warehouse. McClane pursues them. Gabriel orders Farrell to enter the code to decrypt the information. Farrell refuses and is shot in the leg by Gabriel. When Gabriel puts the gun to Lucy's head and says he will count to ten, Farrell gives in and begins to enter the code. McClane arrives and shoots one of the henchmen, but is in turn shot in the shoulder by Gabriel. McClane dives behind a car, his gun on the ground near Farrell. McClane goes for his gun but is grabbed by Gabriel from behind. Standing behind McClane, Gabriel taunts him and tortures him by sticking his gun into the bullet wound in McClane's shoulder. Gabriel tells McClane that his epitaph will read "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time." McClane replies that it might read "Yippee ki yay, mother-" and pulls the trigger on the gun, shooting himself through the shoulder and killing Gabriel. Farrell has grabbed McClane's gun and shoots the other thug.
The FBI arrive and provide medical attention to McClane, Lucy, and Farrell. Farrell and Lucy separately indicate to McClane their romantic interest in each other. Lucy indicates that, for today at least, she's a McClane.
Elsewhere, a young couple is making out in a car. Detective John McClane breaks it up; the girl turns out to be his estranged daughter Lucy. She leaves in a huff, refusing to acknowledge her father's last name but calling herself instead by her mother's maiden name, Gennaro. Meanwhile, The FBI command center's computers are momentarily interrupted, leading Deputy Director Bowman to order a roundup of all the hackers who could conceivably have been involved. McClane is sent to pick up Farrell, and his arrival interrupts Gabriel's remote detonation of Farrell's computer. Gabriel's assassins have the apartment under surveillance, and open fire. McClane kills several thugs who enter the apartment. The thugs finally blow up Farrell's computer, destroying the apartment. McClane and Farrell escape down the fire escape, McClane killing various henchmen on the way and Farrell marvelling at McClane's heroics.
McClane makes it to Washington DC with his charge. At the temporary FBI office, Farrell notices the pictures of the dead hackers on the wall. Farrell and McClane are redirected by the FBI to another office so that Farrell can be interrogated. While they are on their way to the the new office, Gabriel begins downloading a huge quantity of significant data from some mysterious government source onto his own computers, and shuts down the network controlling the traffic signals. Chaos on the roads ensues. McClane, Farrell, and their police escort attempt to contact the police to have a route opened for them, but have their radio communication intercepted by Gabriel and Linh, who direct them to an ambush. McClane suspects their communication has been intercepted, tests Linh by asking her a trick question, and reveals he knows she's a fake. Gabriel gets on the radio and advises McClane he knows everything about him, and wipes out his 401K. Our heroes attempt to evade the ambush, but are set upon by helicopter. McClane and Farrell escape the ambush in a cop car, and are chased into a tunnel by the helicopter. Gabriel opens the traffic on both sides of the tunnel, sandwiching our heroes in a massive pileup in the middle. McClane drives the cop car straight out of the tunnel and jumps at the last second, launching the car into the helicopter and killing the thugs.
McClane and Farrell escape on foot. As they try to contact the FBI via cell phone, they discover that the communication networks are down. Farrell reveals that he recognized some of the dead hackers from their pictures, and that he innocently wrote some code that may be being used in this computer attack, which appears to be a three-stage plan to cripple the United States by attacking its information infrastructure. The next stage will be to take out the power grid; this cannot be done remotely but requires intervention at the actual physical plants. Farrell reconfigures the cellphone to use a different network to allow them to communicate. McClane and Farrell commandeer an abandoned car. By pretending to be the son of its owner in a medical emergency, Farrell gets OnStar to remotely start it for them. They set off for the main power station controlling the Eastern seaboard.
Linh and a group of henchmen, disguised as FBI agents, infiltrate and take over the power station. As they commence shutdown procedures, McClane and Farrell arrive at the station. Their presence is detected, and henchmen dispatched to dispatch them. McClane and Farrell fight their way to the station's command center, McClane fights Linh, and Farrell manages to abort the shutdown sequence. McClane finally kills Linh by driving a truck into her and down an elevator shaft, where the truck explodes at the bottom. Seeing that the shutdown hasn't taken place yet, Gabriel calls Linh's cell phone. McClane answers and tells Gabriel that his plan has been foiled and Linh killed. Enraged, Gabriel redirects all the natural gas in the pipelines to converge on the power station. Farrell notices this on one of the computer screens, and he and McClane take shelter just before the station explodes. The destruction of the station causes a massive power blackout over Washington and much of the Eastern seaboard. Lucy McClane is caught in an elevator in the blackout.
Farrell and McClane go to visit "The Warlock" in Baltimore, who Farrell describes as an Internet Jedi. Traffic being a nightmare, McClane decides to fly the helicopter that Linh and her henchmen had used to arrive at the power station. McClane reveals he had a few flying lessons, but never completed the course; they have a rough landing in Baltimore. Meanwhile, Gabriel and a few select henchmen kill his other remaining employees and, travelling light, set out in a semi-trailer with a mobile computer command center in the back.
The Warlock lives in his mother's basement where he has set up his own "command center" -- an impressive collection of computers running on his own generators, interspersed with geek memorabilia. The Warlock is suspicious of the police, but reluctantly agrees to help. He reveals that Gabriel was formerly a highly-placed FBI computer security director, responsible for building much of the system, who discovered its vulnerabilities to attack. When Gabriel brought these vulnerabilities to the attention of his supervisors, ultimately interrupting a meeting of the Joint Chiefs to do so, he was denounced and publicly humiliated. The Warlock shows McClane and Farrell that one facility is still running and drawing massive power loads. This turns out to be the facility from which Gabriel was downloading data, and which Gabriel and several thugs have now infiltrated and taken over. Gabriel is alerted to Warlock's intrusions; he traces the intrusion back to Warlock's basement command center, and commandeers Warlock's computer and webcam to communicate with the group in Warlock's basement. He shows McClane images of his daughter in the elevator, and advises that he is going to get her. McClane sets off to find and kill Gabriel; he tells Farrell to stay behind, but Farrell insists on helping him. Lucy is brought to Gabriel at the data facility; a chip off the old block, she fights all the way before being tied up.
McClane and Farrell communicate with Bowman and show him an image of Gabriel. Bowman is dismayed; he tells them that the facility still running was designed by Gabriel as a failsafe in the event of an attack on the nation's infrastructure; it contains a backup of all the financial data from stock markets, corporations, and government agencies. Gabriel apparently intends to download this information onto mobile hard drives, allowing him to undetectably siphon off billions of dollars.
McClane and Farrell head to the data facility, and Bowman orders an F-35 fighter plane dispatched to the facility. Gabriel is alerted to their presence, and obtains the go codes for the fighter plane by accessing the military's data banks. Farrell, using one of the computers at the facility, manages to encrypt all the data that Gabriel has downloaded, making it useless to them without the decryption key which he alone knows. He is subsequently captured by Gabriel's thug and brought to the control center where Lucy is also captive. Lucy advises him he will need to reach down and find a bigger set of balls. McClane kills the various thugs sent to stop him, and communicates with Farrell via one of the thugs' walkie-talkies. Gabriel attempts to talk McClane down but is unable to do so. He puts Lucy on the radio, to "talk some sense" into her father, but she aids him by telling him that there are only five bad guys left. The bad guys escape in two vehicles: Gabriel, two thugs, and the captives in an emergency services van, and one thu
g in a semi-trailer carrying their portable computer control center. McClane jumps onto the back of the semi-truck as it leaves the facility, climbs to the cab, shoots the driver through the door, and takes over the truck, chasing the remaining bad guys and their captives in the van. In the van, Gabriel orders Farrell to unlock the data, but Farrell refuses, knowing that this is his only bargaining chip and that Gabriel will kill him once he has the data back.
Gabriel realizes they are being chased. He uses the go codes to tell the F-35 pilot to destroy the semi-truck. The F-35 fires various missiles and machine guns at the truck, virtually destroying it and a large portion of a highway overpass. As the truck begins to slide backwards down a destroyed ramp, McClane falls out of the cab and down the back of the ravaged trailer. The plane is about to deliver the coup de grace when it is damaged by a chunk of falling pavement. McClane falls onto the plane's wing. The pilot ejects, McClane slides down the spiralling plane and jumps onto another section of destroyed ramp, sliding down the ramp as the jet crashes and explodes just behind him.
The van carring the bad guys and captives enters a warehouse. McClane pursues them. Gabriel orders Farrell to enter the code to decrypt the information. Farrell refuses and is shot in the leg by Gabriel. When Gabriel puts the gun to Lucy's head and says he will count to ten, Farrell gives in and begins to enter the code. McClane arrives and shoots one of the henchmen, but is in turn shot in the shoulder by Gabriel. McClane dives behind a car, his gun on the ground near Farrell. McClane goes for his gun but is grabbed by Gabriel from behind. Standing behind McClane, Gabriel taunts him and tortures him by sticking his gun into the bullet wound in McClane's shoulder. Gabriel tells McClane that his epitaph will read "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time." McClane replies that it might read "Yippee ki yay, mother-" and pulls the trigger on the gun, shooting himself through the shoulder and killing Gabriel. Farrell has grabbed McClane's gun and shoots the other thug.
The FBI arrive and provide medical attention to McClane, Lucy, and Farrell. Farrell and Lucy separately indicate to McClane their romantic interest in each other. Lucy indicates that, for today at least, she's a McClane.
Cradle and All
In Boston, a young woman finds herself pregnant--even though she is still a virgin.
In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition.
And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming.
Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth--to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.
In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition.
And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming.
Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth--to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.
Fantastic Four 2 - Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Für Susan Storm und Mr. Fantastic läuten die Hochzeitsglocken.
Die Gäste sind gerührt. Doch was stört den Frieden an dem Tag, der der glücklichste ihres Lebens sein soll? Ist es ein Vogel? Ist es ein Flugzeug? Nein, es ist der Silver Surfer!
"Mann, ist das cool", staunt Johnny die Fackel beim ersten Auftritt der quecksilbrigen Fremden aus dem All, bevor er seine Verfolgungsjagd startet.
Doch wer ist der Silver Surfer überhaupt? Werfen wir also einen Blick in die Enzyklopädie: »Norrin Radd stammt vom Planeten Zenn-La, der Heimat einer humanoiden Rasse. Als Galactus Zenn-La verschlingen wollte, bot sich Norrin als Herold an, falls Galactus seine Welt verschonen würde. Er versprach, Welten zu suchen, die den Hunger des Galactus stillen würden. Galactus war einverstanden und transformierte Norrin zum Silver Surfer. Eines Tages fand der Surfer die Erde, doch Alicia Masters konnte den Surfer davon überzeugen, daß die Menschheit es wert war zu überleben. Schließlich stellte sich der Surfer an der Seite der Fantastischen Vier (Fantastic Four) gegen seinen Herrn…«
Die Gäste sind gerührt. Doch was stört den Frieden an dem Tag, der der glücklichste ihres Lebens sein soll? Ist es ein Vogel? Ist es ein Flugzeug? Nein, es ist der Silver Surfer!
"Mann, ist das cool", staunt Johnny die Fackel beim ersten Auftritt der quecksilbrigen Fremden aus dem All, bevor er seine Verfolgungsjagd startet.
Doch wer ist der Silver Surfer überhaupt? Werfen wir also einen Blick in die Enzyklopädie: »Norrin Radd stammt vom Planeten Zenn-La, der Heimat einer humanoiden Rasse. Als Galactus Zenn-La verschlingen wollte, bot sich Norrin als Herold an, falls Galactus seine Welt verschonen würde. Er versprach, Welten zu suchen, die den Hunger des Galactus stillen würden. Galactus war einverstanden und transformierte Norrin zum Silver Surfer. Eines Tages fand der Surfer die Erde, doch Alicia Masters konnte den Surfer davon überzeugen, daß die Menschheit es wert war zu überleben. Schließlich stellte sich der Surfer an der Seite der Fantastischen Vier (Fantastic Four) gegen seinen Herrn…«
Herr Bello
Max, der 12jährige Sohn des Apothekers Sternheim und sein verwitweter Vater sind ein eingespieltes Team. Mit Unterstützung der neuen Nachbarin, der netten und attraktiven Verena Lichtblau geht Max größter Wunsch in Erfüllung: Sein Vater schenkt ihm den lang ersehnten Freund, einen zotteligen und liebenswerten Mischling, den Max auf den Namen "Bello" tauft. Eines Tages taucht in der Apotheke eine Flasche mit einer geheimnisvollen blauen Flüssigkeit auf. Durch ein Missgeschick zerbricht die Flasche, Bello schlabbert von der verwunschenen Flüssigkeit und verwandelt sich in einen Mensch! Das heißt, "Herr Bello" sieht aus wie ein Mensch und kann sprechen, benimmt sich aber weiterhin wie ein Hund.
Irina Palm
Die englische Schauspielerin und Sängerin Marianne Faithful verkörpert in dieser belgisch-deutsch-britischen Koproduktion eine 50jährige Witwe in finanziellen Schwierigkeiten, die sich auf ein erotisches Jobangebot einlässt.
Maggie braucht dringend Geld. Ihr Enkel liegt schwerkrank im Krankenhaus und das Medikament, das sein Leben retten könnte, ist für seine Eltern viel zu teuer. Wenn sie den schwindenden Hoffnungen ihres Sohnes und ihrer Schwiegertochter neuen Auftrieb geben will, muss sich Maggie etwas einfallen lassen. In ihrer Verzweiflung lässt sich die solide Mittfünfzigerin aus dem Londoner Mittelstand von einem gut dotierten Jobangebot in einen Sexclub locken.
Im "Sexy World" lernt die scheue, aber rüstige Witwe den charmanten Geschäftsführer Miki kennen, der Maggie behutsam an ihre Aufgaben als „Hostess“ heranführt. Nachdem sie von ihrer neuen Kollegin Luisa mit den Spielregeln des Gewerbes vertraut gemacht worden ist, wird aus der pflichtbewussten Maggie binnen kurzem die bei der Kundschaft sehr begehrte und gut verdienende "Irina Palm“. Neben dem Geld verschafft der neue Job Maggie auch ein neues Selbstbewusstsein. Letztlich ist sie nicht so alt, unattraktiv und unnütz, wie sie zuletzt gedacht hat.
Dann aber stellt sich heraus, dass Soho, wo sie ihren sexualhygienischen Dienstleistungen nachkommt, von dem konservativen Vorort, in dem Maggie lebt, gar nicht so weit entfernt ist: Ihr Doppelleben erregt das Misstrauen ihres Sohnes und bei den neugierigen Nachbarn Verdacht. Doch selbst als alles ans Licht kommt, lässt Maggie sich nicht unterkriegen.
Maggie braucht dringend Geld. Ihr Enkel liegt schwerkrank im Krankenhaus und das Medikament, das sein Leben retten könnte, ist für seine Eltern viel zu teuer. Wenn sie den schwindenden Hoffnungen ihres Sohnes und ihrer Schwiegertochter neuen Auftrieb geben will, muss sich Maggie etwas einfallen lassen. In ihrer Verzweiflung lässt sich die solide Mittfünfzigerin aus dem Londoner Mittelstand von einem gut dotierten Jobangebot in einen Sexclub locken.
Im "Sexy World" lernt die scheue, aber rüstige Witwe den charmanten Geschäftsführer Miki kennen, der Maggie behutsam an ihre Aufgaben als „Hostess“ heranführt. Nachdem sie von ihrer neuen Kollegin Luisa mit den Spielregeln des Gewerbes vertraut gemacht worden ist, wird aus der pflichtbewussten Maggie binnen kurzem die bei der Kundschaft sehr begehrte und gut verdienende "Irina Palm“. Neben dem Geld verschafft der neue Job Maggie auch ein neues Selbstbewusstsein. Letztlich ist sie nicht so alt, unattraktiv und unnütz, wie sie zuletzt gedacht hat.
Dann aber stellt sich heraus, dass Soho, wo sie ihren sexualhygienischen Dienstleistungen nachkommt, von dem konservativen Vorort, in dem Maggie lebt, gar nicht so weit entfernt ist: Ihr Doppelleben erregt das Misstrauen ihres Sohnes und bei den neugierigen Nachbarn Verdacht. Doch selbst als alles ans Licht kommt, lässt Maggie sich nicht unterkriegen.
Shrek der Dritte
Der dritte Teil der Shrek-Reihe fängt langweilig an ..
Das heißt: Keine Drachenkämpfe, keine Abenteuer, sondern ein nettes, bequemes Leben in „Weit Weit Weg“, gemeinsam mit ihrem treuen Kumpan Esel und dessen ständigen Monologen.
Heimlich sehnen sich Shrek und Fiona aber nach mehr: Shrek möchte wieder in den Sumpf und Fiona würde ganz gern eine Dynastie gründen. Nur Esel möchte einfach bloß weiterplappern.
Dann stirbt auf einmal Fionas Vater, der Froschkönig. „Weit Weit Weg“ braucht jetzt dringend einen neuen Herrscher – und die offensichtliche Wahl fällt auf das Oger-Pärchen.
Shrek ist darüber alles andere als glücklich; und so zieht er auf sehr unmärchenhafte Weise los, um Fionas streberhaften Halbbruder Artie zu überreden, den Königsjob zu übernehmen.
Der Film lebt nicht von seiner Handlung, sondern vom komödiantischen Talent der alten und neuen Charaktere – ein guter Grund, sich diesen Streifen anzusehen.
Esel, der gestiefelte Kater, der New-Age-Zauberer Merlin, der Möchtegern-König Prince Charming sowie Fionas Prinzessinnen-Liga bieten brillantes Entertainment.
Das heißt: Keine Drachenkämpfe, keine Abenteuer, sondern ein nettes, bequemes Leben in „Weit Weit Weg“, gemeinsam mit ihrem treuen Kumpan Esel und dessen ständigen Monologen.
Heimlich sehnen sich Shrek und Fiona aber nach mehr: Shrek möchte wieder in den Sumpf und Fiona würde ganz gern eine Dynastie gründen. Nur Esel möchte einfach bloß weiterplappern.
Dann stirbt auf einmal Fionas Vater, der Froschkönig. „Weit Weit Weg“ braucht jetzt dringend einen neuen Herrscher – und die offensichtliche Wahl fällt auf das Oger-Pärchen.
Shrek ist darüber alles andere als glücklich; und so zieht er auf sehr unmärchenhafte Weise los, um Fionas streberhaften Halbbruder Artie zu überreden, den Königsjob zu übernehmen.
Der Film lebt nicht von seiner Handlung, sondern vom komödiantischen Talent der alten und neuen Charaktere – ein guter Grund, sich diesen Streifen anzusehen.
Esel, der gestiefelte Kater, der New-Age-Zauberer Merlin, der Möchtegern-König Prince Charming sowie Fionas Prinzessinnen-Liga bieten brillantes Entertainment.