LallaHolti Reviews

Schindler's List (1993)

A masterpiece of art

[10/10 · 20 February 2007]

The story of Oskar Schindler saving 1100 Jews is fortunately not only a story made up by a few writers from Hollywood, but it is true. The fact that this story is true shows on the one hand the greatness of people, even existing in a regime like the Third Reich, but as well the horrors of the Holocaust. This movie shows with a lot of respect for the victims, but without any blinders the real horror and the madness of the Third Reich. It really teaches one about the insanity possible in a person. But next to the shown insanity one can also learn so much about the power of one single person trying to move something. The movie teaches one really that if you really want to achieve something that you can do it, even under the worst circumstances possible, even when you have to risk your own safety and life. You really have to believe in yourself and in your actions. If you do so, your plans will work.

Of course not to forget are the unbelievable actors. All of them did a phenomenal job and it would be unfair to mention only one of them. So instead of giving every single name, generalizing will do. The cast was just unbelievable good, especially imagining what kind of movie they made and with which piece of history they had to deal.

To sum things up one can say that this movie is really about fighting for your believings and fighting for those people, who need your help. And I think it is also an enormous tribute to an unbelievable brave man: Oskar Schindler. Just as they did in the movie I think the best sentence to say at the end is a quote from the Talmud: "Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." It describes the actions of Oskar Schindler in the best way, in which it could be done in words.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

An unimaginable great movie!!!

[10/10 · 1 January 2007]

Imagine a young couple in the mid-seventies, which just got engaged and takes now a journey to tell their closest friends about their future-plans. This is what Brad and Janet do on rainy and cloudy night. As of course in every horror movie, no matter if comedy or not, they have a blow-out. To find help they go to a castle, where they meet rather strange characters, such as Columbia, Magenta, Riff Raff and of course Dr.Frank'N Furter. This is the stuff that makes a great and enormously funny movie. Totally weird and so unexpected that all the while you really can have no idea what is about to happen next. Even if you would expect the craziest things you can imagine, you would still be wrong. Next to that the amazing set just makes someone believe the entire story, even though it is more than, as already said, crazy. The set and costumes are colorful and beautifully happy! The cast as well gives you the thrills! There is of course Tim Curry, who is just stunning and has the greatest mimic of all actors ever been on screen. There is the wonderful Susan Sarandon, who plays the shy little Janet makes everything the character does really believable. Everyone else who was also part of this great cast just gives his or her parts to make this movie a cult-classic-must-see-movie!!!!

SO WATCH IT!!!

Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

Just amazing!!!!

[10/10 · 10 October 2006]

The idea of young girl, who gets pregnant at the age of 16 is nothing new to the drama genre. But it is pretty new if you take a look at the comedy genre. There is this basic plot of Lorelai and Rory, mother and daughter. Lorelai comes from a wealthy background, got pregnant with 16 and ran away from her parents' house at 17. But this series does not start there, it starts when Rory is 16 and everything is just about the problems of a single mother, who has terrible problems with her parents and about all those problems you have when you are 16.

Okay, now again this sounds pretty normal, but there is this little thing called joke. The Gilmore Girls talk incredibly fast and they make like 60 jokes a minute. Even if you don't understand all of the jokes, since they contain hundreds of references to films, music, gossip, history, literature and politics. Sometimes you even get confused, but that really is the fun. And not only it is fast, it's smart and wonderfully sarcastic. In addition to that it is not only funny, it has great drama parts in it and you can take some lessons from it even home. Which is a thing that does not go for every single TV- Series.

So watch it! It'll lighten your mood and help you through hard decisions!

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Quite a movie!

[8/10 · 1 October 2006]

A movie about revenge. That's not something new, but the way that Quentin Tarantino put a story around this oldest theme known to mankind is just amazing! You see the first scene and think "Oh my god! This cannot get any bloodier!" And then BAM! it can! Tarantino shows once again his genius as a director! He has lots of fantastic and unique ideas about how a fight should look or how you can show a persons whole life without using three different actors and bringing at the same time the characters cultural background.

And then there is Uma Thurman! Again she shows that she can play any role, no matter if it is a professional killer or a maybe a character you would fall in love with, she can do everything and you she makes you believe it! A great movie you shouldn't miss, but if you don't feel to well watching some people die and suffer and see millions of liters of blood then you should maybe rethink the decision of watching this very movie....

Der Wixxer (2004)

Great German Comedy!

[9/10 · 1 October 2006]

Finally! The German Comedy is coming back to life!!! For a much too long time German movies and especially the comedies, we couldn't even call them good. Whether it were poor copies of successful Hollywood movies(e.g. Mädchen, Mädchen and American Pie) or they were just really bad! But this movie is different! It is no copy of anything except for a lot of references to not only famous movies, but also authors, musicians and to historic aspects! And of course one has to add the kind of "not references" on the poster: It says very big:" After NO novel by Edgar Allan Poe!" And next to all those general aspects the plot and the whole storyline make perfect sense. The story of the two detectives, who have to solve a crime mystery at the Blackandwhite-castle is from the beginning to the end perfectly clear, even though it is totally ridiculous, but funny! Also one has to comment the phenomenal acting skills!Everyone of the actors does a great job!Especially funny is the great parody of Hitler! Those fun jokes, which are completely political correct by the way and all those bad eastern Germany jokes and the totally hilarious accent of Anke Engelke just make this movie an experience one shouldn't miss!!!!

The 4400 (2004–2007)

A great show!!!

[10/10 · 4 August 2006]

4400 people pop out of a giant light ball and have no idea what has happened.All of those people were abducted in the second half of the twentieth century until just a few months until they returned. Even though some of them were gone for whole 60 years no time has passed by for them.When they were for example 40 in 1960 they were still 40 in 2004. The Homeland Security then has to clear where they come from and where they have been and especially who took them and for which reasons! The two main agents are Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris played by Joel Gretsch and Jacqueline McKenzie.

Those two actors do a fabulous job!Joel Gretsch plays in a phenomenal way the part of a complex man who really needs to know what happened since he is because of his son is involved with the abductees... And Jacqueline McKenzie as Agent Diana Skouris shows as well her great acting skills and make it really believable that Diana Skouris is as much complex as Tom is.

This show which seems because of the plot like a real Sci-Fi thing,but next to these great sci-fi schemes is also very character driven,which gives it an extra touch and is not only about something which we can never figure out,since it all is far too complicated...

To put things in a nutshell: A great show,witch a great plot,great characters and much greater cast!

Barefoot (2005)

Wonderful movie

[10/10 · 23 July 2006]

Last weekend my friends forced me to watch this movie,but I didn't want to,because I think Til Schweiger is not one of the greatest actors of Germany and I definitely couldn't imagine him as a director or writer! But after about 10 Minutes I got lost in the story, the great acting and the great love! This movie gives proof that love is the greatest gift you can ever get and is the greatest aim you can ever achieve!Yes, love can move mountains! If you think this last sentence is total rubbish,than you should watch this very movie and you'd be proved the exact opposite! Another reason to watch this movie is the great cast!Til Schweiger is surprisingly great and plays his role of the black sheep of the family with a lot of charm and capability! Johanna Wokalek plays the role of Leila with soo much charm and naiveté that you just can't believe it!She has one of the hardest job ever known to an actor,but she does it with an easiness and so natural that you start to think this is what she was born for!This is just her role!!!

Well to put things in a nutshell:Great movie for people who love,who want love and for those who hate love movies!!!

Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)

A great statement against racism

[10/10 · 12 July 2006]

In the history of films after WW2 there were a lot of movies about Nazi-Germany. A lot of them showed how cruel and horrifying this darkest chapter of German history was and so those are movies to make the people not forget so the history may not repeat itself.But unfortunately often in those movies is forgotten that not all Germans were Nazis and that there were actually brave people who dared to open their mouth and speak against Hitler. One of those persons was Sophie Scholl, she was part of the group of the white rose, Die weisse Rose.She and 6 other persons, students as well as one professor, one of the students was her own brother Hans, made flyers and spread them in which they openly said to dispossess Hitler. Of course they did it all anonymous,but still they got in the end during spreading flyers in the university of Munich. The actress Julia Jentsch, who plays Sophie Scholl, did an amazing job.For the first time Sophie Scholl was not shown as the always tough tomboyish kind of girl,but as a person, who would ,if she had the choice, live her life exactly the same way as she did.Even she was really afraid of death,but she was sure she was dieing for the right reasons.

This movie is not easy to watch, since it's most definitely not an easy topic, but even though you think I don't want see it, because it's too hard or to horrible, watch it!It will change your mind about a lot of things, which are going in the world and it shows you, that even if it is a small and quiet voice, it might be heard and it might set the first spark of something great.

Schillerstraße (2004– )

The best TV-Show which was ever made

[8 October 2005]

Put a few actors and comedians on a stage without a script and let them do work. All few minutes they become a short instruction and this is what the show is about! It does sound very simple, but it is more than effective, brilliant, funny and great! The centre of the show, Cordula Stratmann played by Cordula Stratmann, is a very grounded person, who has normal problems for which she finds solutions together with her friends. The believable thing about the show are not only the every day problems, but also the relationships between the actors, because Cordulas friends in the show are also her friends in the real life. For example Annette Frier: In the show she plays Cordulas best friend, which means she plays herself, because in the real life she is Cordulas best friend!

To put things in a nutshell: "Schillerstraße" is a great show with a total new concept with great actors!

Beyond Borders (2003)

to put things in a nutshell: a good movie

[8/10 · 18 April 2005]

I think it was a good movie, because it showed in which conditions people in the world still have to live and that these not only live in Africa, but unfortunately everywhere in the world.

I also think that this movie could move a lot of peoples mind to go out and to do something, so they can help other people, who do not have such a good life as we have. And the fact that Angelina Jolie works as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR in real life makes it all believable and you think that this movie wasn't made in first place for making money, but to move the people's mind.

But what I hardly miss is that after or before the movie no one said that no human being was hurt while making this movie.