Mummy’s Movies

No, I haven’t been to the movies. Not, yet, but I am optimistic that I will eventually go out and watch a movie again one day. Maybe when I do not fully breastfeed her. Maybe when I have caught up on sleep. Maybe next year ;-)

Anyway, that doesn’t stop me from watching movies. On the contrary. I think DVDs were invented by and for mums. You can watch them anytime, at home, you can stop and restart them when the little one wakes up and you can watch them again, when you poor sleep-deprived and slow baby-brain forgot the plot or the ending... In short: hurray for DVDs!!!

The two latest DVDs I watched are very different, but I can highly recommend both of them – to both mums and not-mums:

Babies

Documentary about babies (what a surprise!) with 4 babies from Namibia, Tibet, Japan and the US

What I love: that there is no narrator, you just see and listen to the babies and their families; amazing pictures, touching stories, surprising many similarities and little differences across gender, culture and continent

What I don’t like: that I have to say goodbye to the four lovely babies after just 2 hours

Sex and the City 2

I don’t think I have to explain to anybody what Sex and the City is ;-)

What I love: the girls, the fashion and the over-the-top lifestyle

What I don’t like: surprisingly little – a lot of my friends said that they didn’t like the second movie, but I thoroughly enjoyed it – of course it is unrealistic, of course some dialogues are a bit direct – but that’s what it is all about, isn’t it?

The Girls are Back!!!

Pictures from here

Only two more sleeps and the girls are back in town, aehm in the city.

In two days ‘Sex and the City 2’ will be released in the US. In three days it will be released in Germany and Australia will have to wait until June 2nd. I might have to wait even longer, because sitting in a cinema chair for 2 hours is currently just impossible for me and my belly, not even for Sex&the City 2 ;-(

Nevertheless I cannot wait to see the girls again. When the TV series started in Germany, I just had split up with my boyfriend of eight years. I was 29, focussing on my career, dreading the lonely Sundays, getting slowly back into dating, puzzled and amused by the guys I met, interested in fashion and handbags, reading glossy magazines, travelling around the world (for my job and in every spare time), spending a lot of time on pampering, shopping and going out... in short I could have been one of them. If I lived in NY and not in Berlin, if I earned a fortune and not just a living, if I ... Anyway, I really felt close to the four girls. My girlfriends and I spend every Tuesday in front of the TV with bubbly and snacks, with gossip and our own ‘love stories’.

Now 5 years later, I just cannot believe how my life has changed. I live in Australia, I am married to the love of my life, I am about to be a mama, I love lazy Sundays, I still love travelling and fashion... All changes for the better, but I still miss these girl nights and my TV friends from NY.

So, see you soon, girls! I cannot wait to hear what happened to you in the last 5 years!

More Movies

I finished No 8 on my mat-leave-to-do list today. Right on time because I had to give the movies back to the video rental today. But I managed to watch them all in the last couple of days...

... and I loved them all – more or less passionately.

‘Young Victoria’
What an amazing movie! In my opinion it would have deserved more academy awards than ‘just’ for best costume. The actors are all amazing, the story is gripping, sad, happy and just wonderful. I learned what a lonely life the queen that gave our state its name had before meeting the love of her life. And my current hometown was named after the prime minister of England Lord Melbourne.

‘Rabbit Proof Fence’
Maybe not the best movie to watch when you are pregnant. So sad. So real. And so focussed on the loss of children. The stolen generation in Australia to be precise. Up till the 1970 children of Aboriginal descent were taken away from their mothers to teach them the white way of life. Absolutely unimaginable! Highlights are the young actors and the powerful images of the Australian outback. Lots of crying involved on my end, but so worth watching. Incredibly touching!

‘Slumdog Millionaire’
I know it is hard to believe that I hadn’t seen this movie before. After all the hype when it won 8 academy awards. Well-deserved, I have to say. All the key ingredients of a bollywood drama minus the dancing. A hero from the slums. A beautiful girl. Some gangsters who do anything for money and power. A view in the backyards and slums of Mumbai. Wow!

‘Pricilla’
A very different kind of road movie. Two drag queens and a transsexual travel with their pink bus through the Australian desert to get on stage in the middle of nowhere (aka Alice Springs). Crazy, colourful, over-the top, lots of sequins and highheels. Very very lavender!

‘The September Issue’
A documentary offering an interesting view behind the scenes of the editorial department of the American Vogue. Anna Wintour is as unfriendly and stiff as you imagined her to be after watching ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. I am really surprise she approved this documentary, but maybe she wasn’t aware about how revealing it would be.

Movie Marathon

Another thing ticked off my mat-leave-to-do list. No 8 to be precise.
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1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut – already done
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod
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Today I went to the video rental and picked up not one, not two... but 7 movies!

I started by watching ‘Coco avant Chanel’. A great movie, if you are into independent women, fashion and a bitter-sweet love story. I am and therefore I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although it was entirely in French (luckily with English subtitles because my French is more than rusty), which somehow added to the whole elegant, nostalgic atmosphere.

Then my husband and I watched ‘Catch me if you can’. A real surprise. I am not that into Leonardo DiCaprio, but I absolutely loved this movie. It is funny and also a bit thoughtful, exciting and full of twists, somehow unrealistic but based on a real story, fast but not mind-blowing and it is full of great actors. Highly recommended, especially if you after a movie both you and your husband enjoys.

Almost weekend

Oh well – the movie. Let’s say it was okay. There was lots of action, a brilliant Matt Damon, it sparked some discussion about war, military and obedience between my husband and me – but the story was quite thin. Little dottie got quite upset by all the shouting and shooting. She kicked me quite hard to show me that she didn’t like the noise until I started to stroke my belly regularly to calm her. Oh, I am already so in love with my little girl!

picture from here

Movie Night

One thing everyone tells me to do before the little one arrives is going to the cinema. Sure there are mum and bub screenings, but it is difficult to get lost in a movie if you constantly want to check whether your sweetie is still alright. Sure there are also DVDs and home-cinema-projectors, but I just love the smell of popcorn and old dusty velvet too much.

Therefore my lovely husband and I decided to go to the cinema tonight. To watch a real adult-mature audience only movie (no, that is not what you think!!!). With lots of action, loud screaming (not good with a sleeping baby), a contemporary topic, a big conspiracy, heart-racing suspense and my all-time-favourite actor Matt Damon. In short:

Green Zone

As a huge fan of the Bourne trilogy my expectations towards this new teamwork of the director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon are immense. I cannot wait and hope that I won't be disappointed.

So dear friends, you see, we DO take your suggestions seriously ;-)

Have a wonderful Thursday night!