The Hot Tub Cinema hasn’t made it from London to Berlin yet, but the times of watching movies in a theatre with red velvet seats or cuddled up in bed are over none the less. We want to get out, sit in a deckchair or a blanket underneath the stars while the films flicker on an outside screen. Summer has finally come and it’s time for some Open Air film fun! Recommendations after the jump.
by Lia
on June 18th, 2013
in Kreuzberg, Mitte, Movies
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The Humping Pact
Berlin is the city of sex (mostly cheap and unaffectionate). Already discussed and explained in details here and here and here. So far nothing special about it. But can Berlin become the city of porn? Or maybe better: Can Berlin become the Art Porn Capital of the world? Why not thought curator Cy Iurinic and the Mindpirates inviting us to the Art Porn Week from today until Saturday (June 12-15). Next to several films, performances, workshops, discussions, readings and live music in order to interact with the audience in a pornographic art experience there will be installations throughout the Mindpirates Vereinsheim and Mindpirates Projektraum incorporating drawings, paintings, photography, video and sound. The goal is to seduce the audience to step out mere spectatorship and to engage in learning new ways of sexual understanding. Being open minded Lia and I will try to experience it as good as we can in the following days. Both of us have all ready watched and recommended good porn to our readers (here and here) and are looking forward to find new art porn pearls for future posts. After the jump you find an overview of the upcoming days and some pictures. I would recommend to go there with a new date: it’s the best way to find out if you are the right ones for each other from the beginning.
by Claudio
on June 12th, 2013
in Art, Movies
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We already missed the first half, but the second half of the Screening series AMOK! looks like it will be just as interesting. In Vierte Welt in Kreuzberg the organizers show films dealing with school shooters on ten nights. No easy or happy subject, but instead very insightful. But AMOK! doesn’t just show films, they present them along with diary entries, farewell videos or notes of real school shooters. The connection between fiction and reality is shocking, thought provoking and evocating.
Although AMOK! won’t be able to answer the question Why? or find explanations in the shooters psyche it is definitely worth taking a peak into the dark soul of society and visiting the brave investigation and great screening series.
All details on the AMOK! Homepage and after the Jump…
by Lia
on June 11th, 2013
in Movies
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Since everybody here already knows about my obsession with Ryan Gosling, it will come as no surprise that I am super and I mean SUPER excited about the release of his latest film The Place Beyond the Pines next week. It premiered last year at the Toronto Film Festival and is by the director that also created Blue Valentine Derek Cianfrance.
Gosling plays motorcycle stuntman Luke who gives up his dangerous job when his ex-lover Romina (real life current lover of Gosling Eva Mendes) reveals they have a son. Although Romina doesn’t want him in his son’s life, Luke wants to provide for the child and partners with an “ex”-bank robber to start a career in doing precisely that.
Of course it won’t stay good for long and the trailer seems dark, dangerous and reminds me somewhat of Drive (without the underlying humor). I will get back with more details once I’ve seen the piece. For now all I can say is watch the trailer, you’ll want to see it too! Details and the trailer after the jump….
What do people look like when they get more and more aroused and finally have an orgasm? Photographer Clayton Cubitt’s short clips provide an answer to this question. For his project Hysterical Literature the artist asked women to read lines from their favorite books while, invisible for the viewer, being sexually stimulated.
A project called Beautiful Agony toyed with similar images. On this porn-page users could upload clips of their faces, while masturbating. The concept is similar to youporn, but instead of genitals in close-ups and crazy acrobatics you only see grimaces and big smiles.
Both projects seek a beauty in sexual arousal that is hard to find in modern pornography and concentrate their search on the faces of the protagonists. Affects and emotions prior to , during and after the orgasm create little stories and an undeniable tension in the spectator. I find the videos beautiful to watch, funny, subtle and sexy. So take a peak at the clips and let me know what you think…
It frequently happens that friends tell me about movies that I’ve heard of numerously, but haven’t ever watched. Some of them are reoccurring (i.e. Apocalypse Now / Easy Rider / Avatar) and each time they are mentioned I’m a little bit more embarrassed, I do hold a diploma in film studies after all.
As I was tied to the bed because of another illness I decided to take it as an educational break and scoured the internet for a “Must-have-seen” list. I found one by The German Federal Agency for Civic Education. filmcritics, -scholars and –makers created the film canon from what they found good and important. I watched three of the films they list in the last couple of days and must say I can’t wait for the others, as those were pretty great…
by Lia
on May 21st, 2013
in Misc., Movies
2 Comments
Drinking alcohol is normal, socially accepted or even expected. But when it becomes excessive the evaluation quickly shifts to embarrassing, dangerous and frowned upon. But how much is too much? And when is it time to pull the emergency break on drinking? Last year’s Sundance Film Festival showcased a film that deals not only with these questions, but also takes a look at the desperation that arises when a young woman tries to fight against her dangerous addiction. Smashed is a heartfelt, honest and partially painful film, certainly worth watching, which finally found it’s way onto the German silver screen last week.
Read more after the jump….
Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh! What a mass of star names for just one film. Certainly the story about pharmaceutical drugs, their use and misuse, their advantages and dangers wouldn’t have needed big names to succeed. It’s well written and structured and probably would have been a hit with no-name actors as well. However, the famous faces didn’t do any damage. Each of the actors seems to have dropped their ego for the duration of the shoot. They all click together, deliver great performances and make Side Effects a pretty great piece of modern cinema that premiered at the Berlinale in Feburary.
In today’s Cinéma de Mode we present you the new Anne Gorke fashion film The Tale of the Two Bloody Marys directed by Michael Venus in collaboration with Curtisfilm. The movie had its Berlin premiere at the SKYY VODKA SWAP Season Opening with Designer Scouts and features award-winning actress Sandra Hüller and Emily Cox, as well as German actor Paul-Wolff-Plotegg. The second fashion film of the sustainable label tells the story of two sister spending their vacation at the family’s summer residence enjoying the liberation of doing nothing during endless cocktail hours. But when one falls in love with the romance of the other a bitter sweet tragedy begins which will trap the sisters in a time loop for over 40 years. Throughout the fashion film you can see the Spring/Summer 2013 collection Orangerie that stands out through clear lines and architectural forms, a mix of different organic fabrics, such as silk, cotton and for the first time also leather. Enjoy Anne Gorke’s beautiful summer tragedy after the jump.
by Devid
on April 27th, 2013
in Fashion, Movies
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Films aren’t what they used to be. But not just the medium itself has changed (gaining sound and colour), but so have the story lines. Films in the 50s used to be influenced by a patriarchal world view. Men were the heroes – regardless of genre – and opinion leaders and the ladies tried to win their attention and affection with their beauty, wit or charm. Today women are emancipated, voice their own opinions and male characters are frequently just as „soft“ as females. Generally all characters are developed in more depth today than they were at the beginning of movies or even still in the middle of the last century.
This development goes hand in hand with changes in our social environment of course. It is thus even more surprising if a 2013 production feels like it’s just been catapulted onto the screen from a 50s production studio. Now one could think I’m enraged about this, but I am not at all. I am more so surprised, amused and almost a little impressed.
