A day in the life, Jan 11


A day in the life, Jan 11, Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte, Regensburg

Only the Brave (2017)



Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.

Good firefighter tragedy with a solid cast is more focused on the protagonists' personal lives, but also offers some exciting firefighting scenes.

Hell or High Water (2016)


A divorced father and his ex-con older brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's ranch in West Texas.

Modern-day Western gives its cops-and-robbers story depth with excellent scenery photography, love for detail and strong characters and some social commentary.

On rewatching:  good movie, fully worth the while.

Bad Samaritan (2018)


A pair of burglars stumble upon a woman being held captive in a home they intended to rob.

Well-made, if not too ambitious serial killer thriller creates some suspense despite a not very convincing plot.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Where Does a Body End? (2019)


The worldview of Michael Gira, through his life as a globetrotter and his four decades leading Swans, a group that he founded in the noisy and iconoclastic New York underground of the early '80s and that keeps reinventing itself today.

A sweeping view of Michael Gira and his band Swans' history (although it mysteriously skips the Angels of Light phase) does a good job depicting their music, philosophy and development over the decades, although it mainly appeals to those already familiar with the band.

Kehraus (1983)


Fork-lift truck driver Ferdinand Weitel is desperate: he earns just a few deutschmarks a month, and now an unsavoury insurance agent has talked him into signing over expensive contracts.

Arguably, Bavarian comedian Gerhard Polt's best movie is a spot-on social satire, although its humor may not communicate well to audiences outside the region.