Apr 18th – €9.99 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1034

That’s My Boy (2012)

Apr 25th – €7.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1035

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

Apr 25th – €4.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1036

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Apr 25th – €12.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1037

Total Recall (2012)

Apr 25th – €9.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1038

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (2012)

Apr 25th – €7.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1039

Battleship (2012)

Apr 26th – €9.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Collection no. 1040

What’s the show about?
The show revolves around a German melting pot family, consisting of Metin Öztürk, a German police detective of Turkish origins and his son Cem, a wannabe gangsta and his daughter Yağmur, who’s living by strict Islamic rules.
On the other side you have Doris Schneider, a libertine psychoanalyst and her daughter Lena, whose BFF just left for America in a student exchange program and Nils, the baby in the family.
Now they try to build one family – but in actuality a war has just begun.

“Die, in der ich meine Freiheit verliere”
(lit. “The One Where I Lose My Freedom”)
Lena is happy to learn that her mother has stopped dating that “Albanian terrorist” when they announce that they are moving in together in a new home. Aside from the happy couple only Nils can see anything good in this and Lena and Cem almost instantly declare war on each other after Cem tried to bully Lena into wearing less “slutty” and more traditional clothes. For this he hires is “gangsta buddy” Costa which in itself is an odd combination since Costa is of Greek origin.

My Opinion
I love the show. Sometimes it gets a bit tiresome because Lena’s and Cem’s story is getting much more complicated and Lena’s sometimes too egoistic and egocentric but in the end they all grow up.

What’s the show about?
Richard Castle is a thriller author and he has a new muse now: NYPD Detective Kate Beckett who will become Nikki Heat in Heat Wave and Naked Heat.
Thanks to his friendship with the mayor Castle is partnered up with Beckett and together they solve real-life murders.

“Flowers for Your Grave”
Richard Castle is a successful thriller author who’s killed his last protagonist Derek Storm by putting a bullet through his head. There’s no Reichenbach Fall in Storm Fall. His blood-sucking publisher and also blood-sucking ex-wife is waiting for the next manuscript but Castle has writer’s block. That is until Detective Beckett approaches him because there’s a serial killer out there who’s mimicking the murders in Castle’s books.

My Opinion
I love the show. The dynamics between “Caskett” work very well and the cases are interesting. There are underlying season arcs but most of the time it’s a case-of-the-week show and that’s just fine with me.
Although the most mysterious question on the show is how his daughter became so well-behaved with a father like that.

What’s the show about?
It’s the third show in the Whoniverse (after Doctor Who and Torchwood). In the UK Doctor Who itself is aimed at (older) children (“The story and the monsters for the kids, the Doctor for the mums and the companion for the dads” as the saying goes) but The Sarah Jane Adventures is aimed at young children (and those who stayed young ). Sarah Jane used to be a companion to the Third and Fourth Doctor in the 70s and she had a few adventures with the Tenth Doctor. Now she has adventures of her own with her adopted son and his friends and the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor visited her on her own show.

“Invasion of the Bane”
The kids of the neighbourhood start to notice that something weird is going on in Miss Smith’s backyard because she’s visited by what looks like fairies. Sarah Jane – she is a newspaper reporter by day – on the other hand investigates a factory that gives away free soft drinks to all the children that visit the factory. When she discovers that there’s a young boy who appears to have been created in that factory, she knows that something otherworldly is going on.

My Opinion
I enjoyed the show. It took existing aliens from the Whoniverse and adapted them for the show (e.g. where the Doctor has to deal with adult Slitheen, Sarah Jane gets to deal with their offspring). But it also invented their own races and told stories about them.

Sadly the show came to an end when Elisabeth Sladen died from cancer a few years ago.

What’s the show about?
This is a children’s show from East Germany. It was the first in the “Spuk” series. During the summer three kids spent their days on the fair grounds and mostly in the haunted house their grandparents run. Three of the life-size puppets come to life and cause havoc in East Berlin and later the Harz mountains.

“Die Ausreißer”
(lit. “The Fugitives”)
One day a group of kids accidentally get three life-size puppets dirty: the witch, the giant and Rumpelstiltskin. When they secretly try to clean them in the river Spree the puppets come to life and escape. Their first mission is to get a broom so that they can fly away from this strange town they’ve woken up in, so they visit the next shopping mall and steal the next best thing to a broom: a vacuum cleaner.

My Opinion
When I was a kid I enjoyed this seven-part show. So when it became available on DVD I bought it purely for sentimental reasons. But if you’re having small children, it’s still a great story.

What’s the show about?
This is a children’s show from East Germany. It was the second in the “Spuk” series. 200 years ago an inkeeper and his wife used to rob rich travelers until a police officer stops them. He curses them to do seven good deeds or else they won’t rest in piece.

“Feuer und Wasser”
(lit. “Fire and Water”)
After they’ve accidentally killed a police officer who tried to stop them robbing their customers both the innkeeper and his wife die when the inn burns to the ground. But since they had been cursed they don’t stay dead. Now – 200 years later – they awake again and can only find piece when they do seven good deeds. But where their tavern used to be is now an apartment complex (in East Berlin) and a strange new world.

My Opinion
I can only repeat what I’ve said before: When I was a kid I enjoyed this seven-part show. So when it became available on DVD I bought it purely for sentimental reasons. But if you’re having small children, it’s still a great story.

Mar 4th – €12.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Collection no. 1027

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Mar 4th – €9.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Collection no. 1028

The O.C.: Season 1 (2003 – 2004)

Mar 5th – €0.00 ($18.00) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12335 – 12341

Argo (2012)

Mar 27th – €9.99 @ Saturn

Collection no. 1029

Looper (2012)

Mar 27th – €12.99 @ Saturn

Collection no. 1030

Schutzengel (2012)
(lit.: Guardian Angel)

Mar 27th – €12.99 @ Saturn

Collection no. 1031

Here Comes the Boom (2012)

Mar 27th – €9.99 @ Saturn

Collection no. 1032

The Transporter (2002)

Mar 27th – €9.99 @ Saturn

Collection no. 1033

Dawson’s Creek: The Complete Series (1998 – 2003)

Mar 30th – €6.11 ($36.41) @ Amazon.com (paid partially via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12342 – 12364

That’s the theory. In reality the developer may have forgotten to add the new interface to the list after he implemented it. Or he forgot the IServiceProvider altogether.

That’s why I have this method to get what I want through several fallback strategies:

using System;
using System.Diagnostics;

public static class Program
{
  private static T TryGetService<T>(Object potentialServiceProvider)
    where T : class
  {
    T service;
    IServiceProvider serviceProvider;

    if (potentialServiceProvider == null)
    {
      return (null);
    }
    service = null;
    serviceProvider = potentialServiceProvider as IServiceProvider;
    if (serviceProvider != null)
    {
      service = serviceProvider.GetService(typeof(T)) as T;
    }
    if (service == null)
    {
      service = potentialServiceProvider as T;
    }
    return (service);
  }

  public static void Main()
  {
    ClassAB classAB;
    ClassC classC;
    InterfaceA interfaceA;
    InterfaceB interfaceB;
    InterfaceC interfaceC;
    InterfaceD interfaceD;

    classAB = new ClassAB();
    interfaceA = TryGetService<InterfaceA>(classAB);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceA != null);
    interfaceB = TryGetService<InterfaceB>(classAB);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceB != null);
    interfaceC = TryGetService<InterfaceC>(classAB);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceC != null);
    interfaceD = TryGetService<InterfaceD>(classAB);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceD == null);
    classC = new ClassC();
    interfaceC = TryGetService<InterfaceC>(classC);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceC != null);
    interfaceD = TryGetService<InterfaceD>(classC);
    Debug.Assert(interfaceD == null);
  }
}

interface InterfaceA { }

interface InterfaceB { }

interface InterfaceC { }

interface InterfaceD { }

internal class ClassAB : InterfaceA, InterfaceB, IServiceProvider
{
  private ClassC m_ClassC = new ClassC();

  public Object GetService(Type serviceType)
  {
    if (serviceType == typeof(InterfaceA))
    {
      return (this);
    }
    else if (serviceType == typeof(InterfaceC))
    {
      return (this.m_ClassC);
    }
    //We forgot to register InterfaceB here
    return (null);
  }
}

internal class ClassC : InterfaceC { }

Wenn man es dann immer noch nicht bekommt, hat man wenigstens sein Bestes versucht.

Monday Mornings @ Wikipedia
Monday Mornings @ IMDb

“Monday Mornings” are conferences within the Chelsea General Hospital and these conferences are about all the things that went wrong. Malpractices, patient deaths and social misbehaviour. But it also shows parts of the private life of the doctors working there and their different approaches to their chosen profession.

Monday Mornings was developed by David E. Kelley who’s more known as a developer of law(yer) shows just as Ally McBeal or Boston Legal. And in the end this show is not so different, because the MM conferences are basically the closing arguments of a trial where everyone explains their point of view of what went wrong.

The cast is well chosen and has a wide range of different actors and characters: There is Alfred Molina (Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2) as the Chief of Staff and "Inquisitor", then there is Ving Rhames (Marsellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction) and also Jamie Bamber (Apollo from Battlestar Galactica) and Sarayu Rao (Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory compared her to Princess Panchali from The Monkey and The Princess).
And last but no least Keong Sim as Dr. Park, whom I have not seen before. He is responsible for the title quote because his grammar is rather lacking which makes his statements very short and very to the point when he tries to convince a patient to undergo a procedure: "Do: Maybe live. Not do: Dead."

Feb 5th – €11.97 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1021

Crank (2006)

Feb 5th – €7.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Collection no. 1022

Ted (2012)

Feb 5th – €11.97 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1023

The O.C.: Season 2 (2004 – 2005)

Feb 20th – €10.04 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 12301 – 12306

The O.C.: Season 3 (2005 – 2006)

Feb 20th – €10.04 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 12307 – 12313

The O.C.: Season 4 (2006 – 2007)

Feb 20th – €10.90 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 12314 – 12317

Person of Interest: Season 1 (2011 – 2012)

Feb 20th – €0.00 ($26.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12318 – 12327

Cougar Town: Season 3 (2012)

Feb 21st – €17.41 (£13.89) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 12328 – 12329

Crank: High Voltage (2009)

Feb 21st – €10.43 (£7.94) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 1025

Hart of Dixie: Season 1 (2011 – 2012)

Feb 21st – €14.21 (£11.16) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 12330 – 12334

The Terminator (1984)

Feb 21st – €12.16 (£9.42) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 1026

Jan 10th – €0.00 ($19.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12297 – 12300

Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)

Jan 17th – €0.00 ($3.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 1014

Superman vs The Elite (2012)

Jan 17th – €0.00 ($10.49) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 1015

Turkish for Beginners (2012)
(Türkisch für Anfänger)

Jan 24th – €9.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Collection no. 1016

Cop Land (1997)

Jan 26th – €9.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1017

The Expendables 2 (2012)

Jan 26th – €14.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1018

Taken (2008)

Jan 28th – €8.97 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1019

The Avengers (2012)

Jan 28th – €12.90 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1020

The story is about a post-apocalyptic world (i.e. North America) where there are no countries anymore. There are only 12 Districts and the Capitol. There used to be a 13th District but it was completely destroyed during the last rebellion of the Districts against the Capitol.

Now the Capitol rules with an iron fist and to prove their supremacy, each year the districts have to “provide” two children between the ages 12 and 16 – one girl and one boy. Then these 24 are sent to a fighting area which only one winner will leave alive.

The protagonist of the books is Katniss Aberdeen and she fights in the 74th Hunger Games for her very survival.

I watched the movie first but found it lacking because Katniss’ behaviour in the Capitol outside the arena seemed odd. The book made a good job explaining her motivations far better than the film. I really, really liked the first book which made me eager to read the sequels.

The second book already dropped in quality IMHO. After all, it was basically the same story again albeit with a twist.

The third one ultimately dropped the ball IMHO. It was rushed and simply skipped over huge parts of the time when Katniss was conveniently injured or unconscious (for example, we never learn what happened with the Nut. Did the soldiers surrender eventually? Did they all suffocate to death?

I have similar complaints about the last Harry Potter book. When you keep in mind how hard it was to destroy the first Horcruxes, the diary, the ring, the locket, then the destruction of the last Horcruxes seemed really easy in comparison and it felt rushed – as if JK Rowling just wanted to get it over with.

I had the same feeling with Mockingjay to be honest.

New Purchase Items: 193 (144 in 2011)
New Movies: 185 (thereof Blu-ray: 121)
New TV Seasons: 59 (thereof Blu-ray: 7)
New TV Specials: 3
New Special Interest: 7

Money Spent: 2,302.31€ (1,755.48€ in 2011)
Money Spent on Movies: 1,413.72€
Money Spent on TV Seasons: 839.59€
Money Spent on TV Specials: 22.61€
Money Spent on Special Interest: 26.39€

Avg Spent: 11.93€ (12.19€ in 2011)
Avg Spent on Movies: 7.64€
Avg Spent on TV Seasons: 14.23€
Avg Spent on TV Specials: 7.54€
Avg Spent on Special Interest: 3.77€

Running Time: 62,355m (43d 7h 15m)
Running Time Movies: 21,056m (14d 14h 56m)
Running Time TV Seasons: 40,043m (27d 19h 23m)
Running Time TV Specials: 456m (7h 36m)
Running Time Special Interest: 800m (13h 20m)

Cheapest Item: Clerks (2.07€)

Most Expensive Item: Bond 50 (111.51€)

First Item: (500) Days of Summer (3.33€)

Last Item: Smallville: Season 10 (16.73€)

Purchase by Locality:
United States: 25
Canada: 13
United Kingdom: 75
Germany: 80

04 Dec – €0.00 ($12.78) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12243 – 12244

Melissa & Joey: Season 1: Part 2 (2011)

04 Dec – €0.00 ($12.78) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12245 – 12246

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

05 Dec – €12.90 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1007

The Intouchables (2011)
(Intouchables)

05 Dec – €8.97 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1008

The Punch Bowl (1944)
(Die Feuerzangenbowle)

08 Dec – €7.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1009

Friends with Kids (2011)

08 Dec – €9.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1010

I Am Number Four (2011)

08 Dec – €9.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1011

Glee: Season 3 (2011 – 2012)

10 Dec – €0.00 ($22.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12247 – 12252

Raising Hope: Season 2 (2011 – 2012)

11 Dec – €0.00 ($24.49) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12253 – 12255

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

24 Dec – €0.00 (gift)

Collection no. 1012

The Hunger Games (2012)

24 Dec – €0.00 (gift)

Collection no. 1013

Smallville: Season 1 (2001 – 2002)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12256 – 12261

Smallville: Season 2 (2002 – 2003)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12262 – 12267

Smallville: Season 3 (2003 – 2004)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12268 – 12273

Smallville: Season 5 (2005 – 2006)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12274 – 12279

Smallville: Season 7 (2007 – 2008)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12280 – 12284

Smallville: Season 9 (2009 – 2010)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12285 – 12290

Smallville: Season 10 (2010 – 2011)

31 Dec – €16.73 (CA$14.99) @ Amazon.ca

Collection no. 12291 – 12296