Thor: Ragnarok / Justice League / Crisis on Earth-X

I’m currently on a vacation at home – or as it called now: staycation – and on Monday I had lunch at one of my favourite Italian restaurants (Actually, it’s an Italian deli that also serves warm food and it’s soo good!). Upon driving home in the early afternoon I thought to myself: what a wonderful world what now to do with the rest of the afternoon. And it just so happened that I drove past a local movie theatre. So at 3 in the afternoon on a Monday I decided to check out what was playing (I had a decent enough idea going in though). And what have you: At 3.15 an airing of Thor: Ragnarok. And at 6.00 an airing of Justice League. Quick calculation: Is Thor done when JL starts? Probably. OK, so both tickets were bought. Both movies were in German dubbing because watching O-Ton as we call it would have required a bit more planning (not every theatre shows them and only on specific times).

At the Thor airing we were three people in the theatre. A mom with her kid and I. Which is not suprising considering it was the afternoon of a regular workday in week 4 of the movie. Justice League at 6pm was also only watched by six people (including myself) in week 2 at a bit more accessible time.

Then two days later I had also caught up with the episodes of Supergirl, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow to watch the big crossover event (Arrow being the fourth show to cross). And so I watched Crisis on Earth-X.

And here’s what I thought about all of them:

Thor: Ragnarok

Plot: Thor’s long-lost sister Hella comes back and wants to destroy Asgard. Thor gets banished to an intergalactice waste disposal and has to find his way back.

I liked the first Thor movie. I don’t remember much about the second one. But nor do I remember much about the second and third Iron Man movies. To be honest, I don’t remember much about any MCU movie that doesn’t have Loki in it, except maybe for the Norton Hulk movie.

That’s one of the issues of the Marvel movies. They are great fun while you watch them (and that’s where and how they make their money) but they are not for the ages. They’re like a good rollercoaster ride. You remember the thrill but you don’t remember the details.

The same will be true for Ragnarok. The villain was once again pretty forgettable and to be perfectly honest not really needed at all for the movie. Because the best parts of the movie took place on the waste planet. Especially all the interactions with Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster (Gamemaster? Whatever.).

I did have a problem with the jokes. Not any one in particular, most of them were at least amusing. More with the frequency of them. Sometimes this felt like it tried to be a laugh-track comedy were every sentence had to have a punchline. IMHO, that was a bit too much. In this regard I loved the more sporadic approach of the first movie where he’d just randomly smash his glass after he’d emptied it, praising the brew within.

As for CGI, Marvel has this part down. Although I could have sworn that the Hulk looked different than before, even a bit smaller. This nagged at me for a bit. Also, I noticed that for the sake of the plot the pathway to the Bifröst was changed, especially what’s supposed to be – or not be – under it.

I loved that Thor wised up for once and predicted Loki’s inevitable betrayal. When I saw that scene, the opening scene of Firefly sprung to my mind:

When I saw Karl Urban, I just thought: You’re in this, too? Considering how small his part was, it was astounding – or depressing depending on the point of view – how much more developed his character was in comparison to Hella’s. And at least he had a part to play in comparison to the disposal of the Warriors Three.

All in all it was once again an enjoyable ride but again no deeper meaning to be gained from it.

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Purchase Diary 2016 – August – December

Waiting… (2005)


Aug 3rd – €1.38 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 30m

Price per Hour: €0.92

Howard the Duck (1986)


Aug 11th – €8.99 @ Drogerie Müller

Running Time: 1h 50m

Price per Hour: €4.90

Inside Out (2015)


Aug 12th – €9.90 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 35m

Price per Hour: €6.25

Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)


Aug 12th – €12.97 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 1h 12m

Price per Hour: €10.81

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (2012)


Aug 12th – €12.97 @ Amazon.de

Running Time: 2h 28m

Price per Hour: €5.26

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Purchase Diary 2014 – August

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)


Aug 2nd – €7.90 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1155

My Fake Fiancé (2010)


Aug 4th – €5.27 (£4.09) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 1156

Maverick: Season 1 (1957 – 1958)


Aug 11th – €0.00 ($24.99) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12743 – 12749

Doctor Who: Season 7 (2012 – 2013)


Aug 14th – €24.82 (£18.45) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 12751 – 12755

Suits: Season 2 (2012 – 2013)


Aug 14th – €19.26 (£14.16) @ Amazon.co.uk

Collection no. 12756 – 12759

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TV Junkie: A History

I watched a lot of TV shows over the years. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. And I watched accross the board.

Keep in mind that I’m only 35 years old.

I watched The Guiding Light for two years straight (it’s a soap opera whose German title was the Springfield Story). I watched medical shows like Trapper John M.D. and lawyer shows like L.A. Law. I watched the 80s action shows from MacGuyver to Riptide. I even watched Love Boat every weekday on one of the first private channels in Germany: Sat.1. I got up at 6am on every Saturday morning to watch Rawhide (Tausend Meilen Staub, lit. “A Thousand Miles of Dust”) with a very young and pre-Fistful Clint Eastwood. I knew who Daniel Boone was around the same time I met the Cartwrights as well as the men from the Shiloh Ranch.

And last weekend I binge-watched the first Netflix show House of Cards (Big recommendation! Kevin Spacey is a brilliant Magnificent Bastard!) and I got curious as to how many shows I watched intently over the past two and a half decades.

With the help of the list on the German site Wunschliste.de I created a list of “my” shows.

I only counted live-action fiction shows, no animated shows may they be Saturday morning cartoons like Yogi Bear or Scooby-Doo or evening shows like The Simpsons or South Park. No scripted reality (which I’m avoiding to 99% anyway with the exception of Comic Book Men). In this list are only shows which I followed for more than a year unless the show itself didn’t last that long.

And the answer was: 244 246 247. Two hundred and fourty four six seven different shows I watched with active interest since I’ve started watching television. And the worst thing is: Of most of these shows I watched 90% or more episodes at least once.

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The Pilot Marathon Part 10

Deutsche Version | Part 9

Türkisch für Anfänger


(lit. “Turkish for Beginners”)

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.

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Elementary

Elementary @ Wikipedia
Elementary @ IMDb

Sherlock Holmes, a former consultant to the British police is now living in today’s New York city. He’s just come out of rehab but very few people know that.
His family has hired a sober companion for him who’s supposed to stay 24/7 with him.
Her name is Dr. Joan Watson, a former surgeon who doesn’t practice medicine anymore.
Now he’s helping the NY police solving crimes.

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Purchase Diary 2012 – March

Chasing Amy (1997)


01 Mar – €2.17 ($11.14) @ Amazon.com (partially paid via gift certificate)

Unfortunately this Blu-ray from the US is from Canada and Region-A-locked. I will have to get the British version after all.

Clerks (1994)


01 Mar – €2.07 ($10.49) @ Amazon.com

A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)


01 Mar – €2.74 ($14.99) @ Amazon.com

Horrible Bosses (2011)


01 Mar – €2.14 ($10.99) @ Amazon.com

Chasing Amy (1997)


06 Mar – €8.28 (£6.83) @ Amazon.co.uk

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Purchase Diary 2011 – May

Doctor Who: The Hand of Fear


04 May – €8.49 (£6.41) @ Amazon.co.uk

Louis de Funès Collection: Box No. 4


05 May – €19.99 @ Media Markt

containing:

The Gendarme of St. Tropez

The Gendarme in New York

Never Play Clever Again

Louis de Funès Collection: Box No. 5


05 May – €19.99 @ Media Markt

containing:

The Gendarme Gets Married

The Gendarme Takes Off

The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space

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TV Season 2009/2010 Diary, CW 20-21

Deutsche Version | CW 20 (LOST Finale) | CW 13-22

Chuck 3×18 / 3×19 Chuck Versus the Subway / Chuck Versus the Ring: Part II
Even though he’s listed as “confirmed casualty” on Ausiello’s season finale scorecard, I don’t really believe that we won’t see Stephen J. Bartowski again. I mean, c’mon. He gets shot a few feet away from a hidden room where there’s cellular regeneration technology that brought Shaw back from the dead. And Ellie was hidden behind a pillar. On a show where death is cheap!
I liked the conclusion of the season and how it took yet another turn to stay fresh. I just wonder if the Buy More storyline is now really over or if they simply open a Buy Something Different store (Remember when in Alias SD-6 was disbanded yet all the characters found themselves in a similar environment again?).

The Big Bang Theory 3×23 The Lunar Excitation
I couldn’t help but to think of Zack as a grown-up version of TaaHM‘s Jake.
I enjoyed the episode and was totally with Raj and Howard when they asked themselves what the hell they had done.

How I Met Your Mother 5×24 Doppelgangers
This episode had some nice heart-warming moments and was a nice conclusion to the season. I just hope that they get back on track next year.

Two and a Half Men 7×22 This Is Not Gonna End Well
I have to say I was terribly annoyed by both Alan and Jake in this episode. Not just the usual funny way, this time they were actually annoying.

10 Things I Hate About You 1×19 / 1×20 Ain’t No Mountain High Enough / Revolution
Too bad this show ended with these episode, I really enjoyed it for what it was and I think I’m still going to buy it on DVD, even though it’s just one season.

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