About fifteen years ago I watched the documentary The Cove. I haven’t been to a zoo or an aquarium or a similar abomination ever since. The last time I was at the zoo in Schönbrunn I saw an Orangutan right behind a glass wall watching me as I was watching him, looking me in the eyes, knowing and understanding and losing his very soul. It was horrible to watch. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and I knew I’d never return to that kind of “entertainment”. Cause that’s what it is… entertainment for us and our kids at the expense of those animals. I mean, who wants to see a caged polar bear in Vienna? That’s madness. The Cove and Blackfish helped me to understand that this is wrong and the best thing you can do against this madness is to not visit, to spread the word and stop the demand. Those movies are a tough watch but powerful and important because they are able to reach a lot of people and maybe make one or two or three people think. They made me think. They changed my whole attitude and how I think about life. Hence, film can be a powerful tool for change if it is done right. 

Of course, film doesn’t have to be that serious all the time. For me there is no bad or inferior genre. I don’t care if it’s a comedy, a drama, a horror, sci-fi, western or experimental film. The film just has to be good, that’s all. When I watch a comedy, I want to laugh till I cry and when I watch a horror movie, I want it to chill me to the bone and when I watch a drama, I want it to make me feel uncomfortable, devastated. I want film to make me feel. Everything else would be boring and there is nothing worse for a movie than to be boring. I’d rather watch a ridiculous movie that makes absolutely no sense than a boring one. 

You may argue that that’s a matter of taste. Well… it’s not. It’s a matter of quality. You can’t say that Schlock – The Banana Monster is a better movie than The Godfather. I mean you can but that only proves that you have no clue… and bad taste. 

Let’s be honest, most of the stuff coming out of Hollywood nowadays is just bloodless, lame, repetitive… and everything looks the same. Same boring. The 100 million dollar CGI look way worse than the make-up and animatronic effects of the 1980’s. And don’t get me started on that 3D nonsense. They should use part of that money to get a decent writer. I think that’s the main problem with this avalanche of movies and TV shows streaming through our living- and bedrooms, flooding them with mediocrity (at best). Well, I’m sick of mediocrity and so should you. No more mediocrity. Let’s talk about the awesome stuff.